HE the Foreign Minister Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah yesterday took part in the International Economic Forum being held in the Russian city of St Petersburg. In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), al-Attiyah, who is on a two-day visit to Russia, stressed that Qatar had a “privileged relationship with Russia, based on mutual respect and joint co-operation in different fields”. He said the forum provided “an important platform to crystalise joint partnerships and exchange views on a set of issues of mutual interest”.  Meanwhile, a senior Russian official has said Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), is allocating $2bn to Russia via joint investments with state-backed private equity fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

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