French companies are in the list of the biggest investors into Russian economy. Jean-Pierre Thomas, Special Representative of the President of France for development of French-Russian relations, describes perspectives of the economic partnership of the two countries in his interview to the channel “Russia 24”.
According to him, there are a number of the French investors interested in the Russian sites. And, as Mr. Thomas acknowledges, they aim not just sell something in Russia, “We want to jointly invest in Russia in order to develop production as well as services.”
Specifically, French businessmen have already paid their attention to the North Caucasus. Their investment into that region has already reached 15 billion USD. Jean-Pierre Thomas explains that there are a lot of tourists in France who come from all over the world. However, the expert states that there exists understanding that along with the classic sites attracting tourists in Europe and in Asia some new touristic regions should be discovered.
“Furthermore, we could move forward into Asia together,” adds Special Representative of the President of France for development of French-Russian relations. “We should create a continent together; we could turn ourselves into a common economic area. If we join or efforts we will be able to become the biggest player in the world,” concludes Jean-Pierre Thomas.
Russia and France can co-operate in various areas, including nuclear sphere, says the expert. “We could jointly invest and export this type of energy worldwide. However, we should pay attention to developing safe technologies as well. Leaders of two biggest companies in this sphere do co-operate already.”
Special Representative of the President of France for development of French-Russian relations also mentiones Skolkovo as the bright example of modernization of Russia.
“Skolkovo is an opportunity for Russia to accelerate its development – and that is a key challenge for the Russian market. A number of French enterprises and companies are already present in the innograd. If the intellectual property protection is clearly guaranteed, it will be easier to persuade other French companies to move faster and more desicively,” concludes Jean-Pierre Thomas.
By his estimations, European companies as well as French companies are ready to take part in such investment. “All of us are interested in creating common economic area,” summarized Special Representative of the President of France for development of French-Russian relations.