The Russian Deputy Ambassador in Zagreb, Boris Medvedev, said that the great number of companies taking part in the meeting showed the Croatian side's significant interest in developing cooperation with Russia. He said that considerable headway had been made in this field this year.
Council chairman Franjo Greguric said that trade between Croatia and Russia amounted to USD 2.16 billion in 2009, contracting by 36 percent from 2008.
Croatia's exports were reduced by 17 percent to USD 154 million.
Imports from Russia were mainly oil, gas, minerals and metals, while Croatia mostly exported to Russia pharmaceutical products and consumer goods. Not all cooperation potential has been used, Greguric said.
Possible fields for the further development of cooperation are transport, oil and gas exploration, energy, food industry, construction and planning, electrical industry, footwear production, furniture production, etc.