OREANDA-NEWS. Sberbank of Russia and SACE signed a Memorandum of Understanding during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

On behalf of Sberbank the MOU was signed by Herman Gref, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board, and on behalf of SACE by Alessandro Castellano, Chief Executive Officer.

The main objective of this Memorandum is the development of long-term cooperation between Sberbank of Russia and SACE in the field of export credit to support foreign trade operations between the Russian Federation and Italy.

Herman Gref commented: "The Memorandum of Understanding that has been signed today is further evidence of our mutual interest in active support of trade relations between Italy and Russia. Together with SACE we are working on developing our trade finance product range in accordance with the needs of our clients and we invite Russian companies to take advantage of our products. We consider that there is high potential for development of trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Italy following the negotiations between the leaders of our countries, which took place during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Italy on June 10, 2015."

Alessandro Castellano declared: "With over €4.4 billion of exposure in our portfolio, Russia remains the top foreign market for SACE. Alongside with Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, and in compliance with relevant international regulatory framework, we continue to ensure our support to export and investment activities of Italian companies in this country, which represents a wide demand for Italian technologies and goods."