Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic said today that at a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and top Russian officials, held at the International Economic Forum in St Petersburg, it was stated that political and economic relations between the two countries are constantly improving and that there is increased Russian interest in investing in Serbia.
In a statement to Fonet news agency, Dacic said that both sides expressed the wish to further improve economic cooperation, not only through the energy agreement, the construction of the gas pipeline South Stream and the expansion of the gas storage facility in Banatski Dvor, but also by more Russian investment in Serbia.
He said that he talked with Medvedev and Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin about the possibility of obtaining loans, which would be used for infrastructure projects in Serbia such as the metro and the Belgrade ring road and for reducing the budget deficit.
Dacic also met with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder at the Economic Forum in St Petersburg.
The Serbian delegation attending the Economic Forum includes Minister of Mining and Energy Petar Skundric and Director of Srbijagas Dusan Bajatovic.