Volume of bilateral trade between Russia and South Korea nears 25 billion

The volume of bilateral trade between Russia and it’s ‘key partner’ South Korea has neared to $25 billion, ANI reported citing Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “The volume of bilateral trade has come close to $25 billion," the minister stated on September 28. In addition,  Lavrov also asserted that the Republic of Korea is among the “key trade and economic" partners of Russia.

The year 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two Asian nations. Russian recently turned its attention to the ‘pivot of the east’ with the latter eventually rising to the position of its 7th largest trade partner. Meanwhile, commenting on the upcoming Russian Korean interregional cooperation forum meet, Lavrov said that Moscow attached particular importance to interaction within the framework and was looking forward to it.

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Russian economy to shrink

Meanwhile, the World Bank has predicted that Russia’s economy is likely to shrink by almost 6 per cent in 2020. According to reports, this will be the most that the country's economy has shrunk since 2009. The possible shrinking of the Russian economy is being seen as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the countless measures undertaken to help curb the spread of the virus. The World Bank also projects that the country’s economy will return to normal levels of growth in 2012-22 after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided.

The COVID-19 health crisis has caused businesses in Russia to slow down production. The lockdown imposed in several countries across the globe due to the virus has also negatively affected the prices of oil, which is Russia’s main export. The health crisis has also caused the unemployment rate in Russia to rise drastically. The country’s GDP is also expected to contract at a pace not seen for the prior 11 years.

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Read: World Bank Projects Russian Economy To Shrink By 6% In 2020 Due To COVID-19 Stress