Russia: France keen to help Russian manufacturers establish agricultural production in Russia

French Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll said that he is keen to help “Russian manufacturers fulfil the task of establishing production in Russia,” during a meeting with Russian Minister of Agriculture Alexander Tkachyov in Moscow on Friday. Le Foll asked Tkachyov “how can we cooperate in this situation, what we can do to help our Russian colleagues?” Tkachyov pointed out to his French counterpart that Russia “has the potential and all the possibilities to develop agriculture but, of course, we cannot do it without using western technology.” A formal proposal will be released in two to three weeks and the French minister declared that he wanted the Russian government to take part. Le Foll came to Moscow at the invitation of the Russian Agriculture Ministry for a two-day visit. During his time in the capital he has met Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkadi Dvorkovich, French agriculture businesses based in Russia and domestic farmers.