ST PETERSBURG, June 2. /TASS/. Russia and Austria should continue their close cooperation, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Austria’s Federal Chancellor Christian Kern at their meeting on sidelines of the 2017 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.

"We have been engaged in active dialogue with Austria over almost all aspects. It is worth saying that actually Russian investments in Austria’s economy stand at $24 billion and about $7 billion dollars are invested by Austria in the Russian economy," Putin said.

"Many Russian companies operate in Austria. There are sectors in which we efficiently and intensively work together. I hope we will go ahead with this work," he added.

Putin said words of gratitude to Austria’s chancellor for his participation in the SPIEF and voiced hope that Austrian business figures had managed to establish new ties and restore previous ones with Russian companies.

The 2017 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF2017) is held in the Russian second-biggest city on June 1-3. TASS news agency is a general information partner and official photo-host agency. Besides, TASS is the operator at the forum’s presentation area.