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Business associations should play an important role in solving global economic problems, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with the delegation of the World Chambers Federation (WCF) on Wednesday.

“We contribute in every possible way to the implementation of the president’s instructions to promote economic, infrastructure and humanitarian cooperation with all countries that are ready for this on an equal and mutually beneficial basis,” Lavrov said.

He also recalled the speech of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), in which the Russian leader pointed to the “commitment to solve any economic issues in an open and broad format, without any select few clubs.”

“I am confident that associations of businesses similar to WCF should play an important role in promoting such approaches,” Russia’s top diplomat said. “We would be very interested to hear your views on the most pressing issues on the international economic agenda, on cooperation between Russia and its foreign partners.”