Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) agreed to create a partnership to invest $10 billion in projects implemented in Russia, Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik reported on Monday. The Russian economy has been struggling due to Western sanctions and falling oil prices, which has pushed the country closer with Eastern countries. The story, based on the statements of RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev, said the abovementioned amount is the largest foreign investment to Russia attracted by the RDIF to date. Dmitriev said the first four or five investment deals are expected to be signed in the next two to three months, which may attract partners from China, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. "We have reached final agreements and are announcing the creation of a partnership with the sovereign fund of Saudi Arabia [PIF], under which the PIF will invest $10 billion into projects on Russian territory. These funds are expected to be implemented within four to five years," Dmitriev said. "We plan to implement 10 deals with the RIF before the end of this year, [and] seven of them are currently in the final stage." Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Dmitriev stressed that the majority of the $10 billion fund will be mainly spent on Russia's agricultural projects along with medicine, logistics and the country's retail and real estate sectors.
