Italian Business Retained Trust in Russia in Most Difficult Times - Ambassador

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — Italian business has retained trust in Russia, even in the most difficult periods in the recent years, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy to Russia Cesare Maria Ragaglini told Sputnik Wednesday, expressing hope the upcoming St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) would lay the grounds for further partnership between the states.

"This year a rather large number of our business representatives will attend the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. Among them there will be the representatives of large, small and medium enterprises. It shows the trust of the Italian business to Russia in general, trust that our side always had and retained it even in the most difficult times in recent years," Ragaglini said on the eve of the SPIEF 2017 forum.

The official stressed that the forum became a very prestigious and attractive event for entrepreneurs from all over the world, adding that Italy was participating in the forum even when other countries ignored it.

"So my main expectation from the forum is the hope that in the coming days we will lay ground for further partnership," Ragaglini said.

Italian companies are showing a particular interest in the oil and gas sector, as well as chemical and mechanical engineering industries in Russia, Italian Ambassador Italy to Russia Cesare Maria Ragaglini told Sputnik Wednesday.

"Our companies have technologies that can be applied in almost all industries. We could hardly find any sector where Italian companies will not be able to participate. At the moment we are seeing special interest of our companies in the oil and gas sector, mechanical engineering, agriculture, chemical industry, nanotechnology, production of furniture. We are also developing bilateral partnership in the health sector," the ambassador said on the eve of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) forum.

The 21st SPIEF is scheduled for June 1–3 and is expected to gather high-ranking politicians and prominent business leaders from dozens of countries. The Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency is the official media partner of the forum.

Italian Embassy Reduces Visa Issue Time for Russian Tourists

Italian embassy to Russia has reduced the time needed to issue Schengen visas for Russian tourists, also Ragaglini said in an interview with Sputnik.

"We have reduced the visa issue time and, most importantly, Italy has been issuing long-term visas for several years now. All in all, we are simplifying the process of visa issue through our Internet portal Your Italy, where you can find a lot of useful information in Russian language about traveling across Italy. All these measures allowed to significantly increase the number of issued visas," the ambassador said.

He added that the total number of Italian Visa Centers in Russia increased from seven in 2013 to 30 in 2017, which is why there are currently no plans to open new Visa Centers in Russia.

Italy, as well as Spain, Greece and Turkey, is one of the most popular destinations for Russian tourists, with more than 700,000 Russian tourists have visited the country in 2016.