Russian, U.S. business can improve bilateral economic cooperation – Ryabkov

(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 28, 2013) There will be no quality change in Russia-U.S. economic cooperation until businessmen of the two countries realize they really need each other, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

“Sure, last year’s trade turnover of $32 billion is ridiculous not only considering the scope of the U.S. and, also, Russian economy but also considering trade turnover with, say, the Netherlands, Germany and other countries of the top five trade partners,” Ryabkov said in an interview with the Voice of Russia radio.

Russia and the United States have wonderful examples of large-scale investment and industrial projects between big companies, which mirror the huge potential of bilateral economic cooperation, he said.

“We can handle the task of annual trade growth, for instance, of up to 10%,” the deputy minister suggested.

He said though, “there will be no quality change until businessmen of one country and the other realize they really need each other and develop an appetite for seeking new areas for their efforts.”

“The achievement of this new reciprocal realization of opportunities and potential would be very important from the political point of view because political relations are more vulnerable and sag frequently without a solid economic support,” Ryabkov said.

“Therefore, the Russian president has set the task to our Foreign Ministry to bolster this interaction, and we are doing that much more energetically than before,” he stressed.