MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. Qatar has invested through the Russian Direct Investment Fund about $1 billion in the Russian economy, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
"They [Qatar] have invested about $1 billion in our economy through the Russian Direct Investment Fund. And I am sure that there are more prospects and we have a lot of interesting projects," Putin assured.
The Russian leader also warmly welcomed the Emir of Qatar to Moscow, recalling that his last visit to Russia was in 2018, and "a lot of time has passed." "We are very happy to welcome you to the Russian capital again," Putin said.
According to the Russian president, relations between the countries are strengthening.
"An intergovernmental commission was recently held in Doha, and it seems to me that it was very useful," Putin said, adding that Qatar is one of Russia's priority partners in general and especially in the Middle East.
"We have very long-standing good traditions of mutual relations. The overall volume of trade is modest, but nevertheless Qatar is one of the key partners of our leading oil and gas company Rosneft," the Russian leader added.