British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said on Thursday that British and Russian firms should seek out opportunities to expand bilateral trade, a move that will help both countries' economies.
Mandelson met with Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin at the Russia-UK Inter-Governmental Steering Committee on
Thursday afternoon.
Mandelson said: "This is an important opportunity for us to expand on our strong trade relationship. Over 1,000 British firms are already
established in Russia, our 12th largest export market. "As a keen Russophile, I'm committed to improving relations with Russia. Today's meeting will help further strengthen our commercial ties,"
he said.
On the agenda for meeting are plans to strengthen the recovery as well as efforts to boost bilateral trade and investment in areas such as financial services, energy, high technology - notably nanotechnology and Olympic Games legacies.
Bilateral trade between Britain and Russia was 10.7 billion pounds (17.12 billion U.S. dollars) in 2008. Among the British companies
represented in Russia are JCB, HSBC, Rolls Royce, Monsoon, M&S and Pilkington.
On Friday, Minister Kudrin will be in Scotland for the G20 Finance Ministers meeting.
Mandelson said: "Global problems require global solutions. Russia is central to the G20 process. The action we have all taken together is the most effective route to ensuring a sustained global recovery."