PARIS, December 10. /TASS/. France is the largest foreign employer in Russia, the country’s Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in an interview with TASS.
"French companies are the leading foreign employers in Russia as they provide jobs to 160,000 people," he said. "France’s exports to Russia amounted to 4.1 bln euro, while Russia’s (exports) to France totaled 6.7 bln euro in first three quarters (of 2019)," the minister added.
The meeting of the Russia-France Council for Financial, Industrial and Trade Cooperation (CEFIC) that is starting in Moscow on Tuesday, provides an opportunity to share views on the state of business contacts, Le Maire said, noting that he suggests a fresh impetus should be given to expansion of the ties between the two countries. "We seek wider cooperation, crossing the historical framework, within which important contacts already exist," he stressed, referring to the fruitful cooperation in the energy, transport and aerospace sectors.
France was glad to see Russia join the countries that assumed obligations on implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change, he noted. "It is only possible to respond to the climate challenge through assuming joint efforts," the minister said. France has best practices and technologies in the field of environmental protection, particularly water processing and improvement of industry’s energy efficiency, he said, adding that "French companies can contribute much to those sectors of the Russian economy."
Another area is connected with the industry of the future and industry 4.0, the minister said. Russia prioritizes increase in labor productivity, while that partnership can help achieve the set goals using the experience of French companies. The special French-Russian committee of heads of enterprises gathered to discuss those issues on the day before CEFIC.
"Amid National Projects announced by President of the Russian Federation an important part of our cooperation’s expansion is connected with healthcare, particularly medical services for senior citizens. Cooperation projects in that field will most likely be announced this week," Le Maire said. He also considers it necessary to provide additional assistance to small and medium-sized French enterprises in developing their operations in Russia.