MILAN, October 16 (RIA Novosti), Daria Chernyshova - Business to business contacts between Russia and Finland have not decreased at all, with Russia remaining a crucial trading partner for Finland, Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said answering a RIA Novosti question on Thursday.
"Russia is our biggest trading partner together with Sweden and Germany, 10 percent of our trade goes to Russia. The interesting thing, however, is that business trade, business to business contact has actually not decreased at all," Stubb said on the sidelines of the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in Milan, Italy.
The prime minister added that the state of the Russian economy has implications on that of Finland itself.
"But if the Russian economy declines by three percent, Finnish GDP will decline eventually by 0.5 percent. So whatever happens in the Russian economy, it has implications on us," Stubb said.
He also noted that the Russian economy declined not due to the economic sanctions implemented against Russia but due to non-modernization, being "still based on crude oil, gas and fossil fuels."
"So there needs to be a change around in that," the prime minister added.
The heads of 29 European countries and 22 Asian partners will attend the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit that will take place in Milan, Italy, from October 16 to 17. The main topic of the summit hosted by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is partnership for sustainable growth and security in the world.
