Russian fund CEO says Saudi economic drive important for world

Reuters
A reflection of a yearly chart of U.S. dollars and Russian roubles are seen on rouble notes in this photo illustration taken in Warsaw November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Files

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's economic transformation plan is important for the world, the chief executive of the Russian sovereign wealth fund Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Tuesday.

Kirill Dmitriev, who runs the $10 billion Russian fund, told an investment conference in Riyadh that Saudi Arabia is an important partner and that partnership among sovereign wealth funds is a "great opportunity".

Saudi Arabia has embarked on a series of economic reforms aimed at diversifying the kingdom's economy from oil dependence.

(Reporting by Andrew Torchia, Marwa Rashad, Stephen Kalin; Writing by Davide Barbuscia, editing by Ghaida Ghantous)