Rome, July 4th, 2019 - A Cooperation Agreement was signed in Rome today between Fabrizio Palermo, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) CEO, and Kirill Dmitriev, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO, together with Alessandra Ricci, SIMEST CEO, a company that with SACE forms the Export and Internationalisation Hub of the CDP Group, and Carlo Mammola, CEO of Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR which manages closed-end investment funds focused on supporting innovation and competitiveness of the Italian industrial system. The agreement has the purpose to promote economic cooperation between Italy and Russia through co-investment and co-financing transactions to support mainly Italian SMEs with current or expected activities in Russia. It is estimated that the total amount of the co-investment and/or co-financing operations covered by the agreement could potentially exceed 300 million euros over the next three years. RDIF will evaluate with SIMEST potential co-investments in Russian subsidiaries controlled by Italian corporates, and with Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR co-investment opportunities – as a minority investor - in Italian companies aiming to expand in the Russian market. The cooperation agreement is not exclusive and may eventually be extended, if of interest, to other companies or Asset Managers participated by CDP.