RDIF is the first Russian investment institution to open an office in Saudi Arabia LONDON: The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, has opened its first foreign office in Saudi Arabia. It comes amid deepening commercial ties between the two countries, which have already established the Russia-Saudi Investment Fund, the Platform for Russian-Saudi Energy Investment and the $1 billion Russian-Saudi platform for investments in the technology sector. “RDIF is the first Russian investment institution to open an office in Saudi Arabia,” said Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. “This will elevate our partnership to new levels and speaks highly for our mutual trust.” So far, 25 joint projects have been approved with a total investment of more than $2.5 billion across various sectors of the economy. RDIF and Saudi Aramco are also considering projects in the oil services sector with a total investment value of over $1billion, as well as in oil and gas conversion projects worth over $2 billion, the Russian fund said in a statement.