TEHRAn, YJC. -- Germany remains Russia's main partner Europe, with bilateral trade standing at 74 billion dollars and growing further despite the existing difficulties, Russian President said in an interview with the German television and radio company ARD on the eve of his visit to Germany on April 7-8.
The Russian President stressed the idea that trade spelled jobs, "thousands, if not tens of thousands of jobs and also household incomes." Behind these figures there are the latest technologies that go both ways.
"For Germany, the structure of trade does not only match its economic opportunities, but also its interests, because the focus of economic and trading relations with Germany is on industrial production," Putin said.
He recalled that Russia provided 40 percent of natural gas and 30 percent of oil Germany was consuming.
"We are expanding our cooperation in high-tech, aircraft building, engineering, including transportation engineering, nanotechnologies, and promising research in the field of physics. This is a multi-faceted, interesting and promising cooperation," Putin said.
He emphasized the fact that Germany remained one of Russia's largest investors. Accrued foreign investment in the Russian economy from Germany is 25 billion dollars, and in 2012 alone it grew by 7.2 billion dollars.
"Individual countries of the EU and the EU in general for us are the biggest trading partner, accounting for more than 50 percent of our turnover," Putin said, adding that this share varied lately due to economic difficulties in the eurozone. In absolute terms, trade turnover between Russia and the EU is 430-450 billion dollars. Russia is the third most important trading partner for the EU after the U.S. and China. "The difference is not very large," Putin said.
About the exhibition in Hanover Putin said that over 100 major Russian companies were represented in six major pavilions. He invited the media and "all our friends in Germany" to visit the exhibition and the Russian pavilions.