Russia has approved a joint long-term strategy for Exiar, Eximbank and the Credit and Insurance Export Support Centre, aiming to grow non-commodity exports from the country.

The strategy, which was passed by the supervisory board of Vnesheconombank (VEB, EXIAR’s sole shareholder), aims to push Russia’s non-commodity exports to 7% of the economy in 2017, and 10% in 2020.

“The centre’s strategy is aimed at developing and supporting non-commodity exports and diversifying Russian exports, which will further affect the development of the national economy,” an Exiar spokesperson tells GTR, adding that the agency will not focus on any particular sector.

Russia’s difficult economic conditions, in the midst of record-low oil prices and Ukraine-related trade sanctions, are seen by many as an opportunity for the country to invest in its diversification and stop relying solely on giant oil and gas corporations.

Last December, Exiar marked its support for SMEs through an agreement with Novikombank, enabling the bank to offer special lending terms to export-oriented SMEs with agency backing against the risk of default by the borrowing exporter.

In November 2014, Eximbank was made a subsidiary of Exiar, in an effort to strengthen the consistency of the two organisations’ offering. On the back of that, the Credit and Insurance Export Support Centre was created to align Exiar and Eximbank’s efforts in supporting non-commodity exports.

Ultimately, Russia aims to make Exiar a fully-fledged export agency offering cover and financial support services for non-commodity exports.