Energy, finance, postal deals signed between Italy, Russia

(ANSA) – Trieste, November 26 – Deals between energy firms, banks and manufacturers in Italy and Russia were signed Tuesday ahead of meetings between Italian Premier Enrico Letta and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The 21 commercial agreements included pacts between Italian energy companies Enel and Eni with Russia’s Rosneft; Eni with natural gas producer Novatek; while other agreements involved Mediobanca, Fincantieri and tire manufacturer Pirelli. A joint investment fund holding one billion euros was also established.

Putin noted that Italy is Russia’s fourth-largest trading partner with commercial exchanges worth more than $50 billion annually.

Meanwhile, seven intergovernmental accords, including an arrangement between the two countries’ postal services, and a cultural agreement were also reached. The leaders’ summit in Trieste came one day after Putin held a long series of meetings with Pope Francis, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and former Italian premiers Romano Prodi and Silvio Berlusconi