MADRID, February 26. /TASS/. Portugal hopes it will manage to intensify economic relations with Russia shortly, the country’s Foreign Minister, Augusto Ernesto dos Santos Silva said on Sunday in an interview with TASS in the run-up to a visit to Russia.

In the course of the visit, Dos Santos Silva is expected to have talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"We’d like to discuss our bilateral relations and to give special focus to the economic issues," he said. "Also, we’re interested in an exchange of views on our plans at the United Nations."

When the reporter asked him if the Portuguese government was satisfied with the current volume of trade with Russia, he said it certainly was not, but he hoped Portugal and Russia would step up their trade in the short term.

"Portugal has some really good opportunities for investment and the list of our most prominent exports includes the products that I’m sure they will be acknowledged on the Russian market," Dos Santos Silva said.

He pointed out a big diversity of the spheres where Russian businesses could invest in Portugal, for instance, tourism, mechanical engineering and some other manufacturing sectors.

"I’d like to emphasize Portugal’s huge potential in terms of tourism," Dos Santos Silva said. "We have unique cultural heritage and monuments, picturesque cities, unforgettable landscapes, unparalleled cuisine, a lot of sunlight and superb beaches and, on top of that, security, hospitality and professionalism."

"The number Russian tourists who come to Portugal is increasing in practical terms and we should help it grow further," he said.