Aug 21. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and President of the Syrian Arab Republic Bashar al-Assad are to discuss Syrian-Russian trade and economic cooperation issues in Sochi Thursday. As a Kremlin source said, goods turnover between the countries has grown steadily in recent years. "From 2000 to 2007 this indicator soared 6 times, topping USD 1 bn in 2007. From January to May 2008 mutual trade volumes more than doubled against the year-earlier period, amounting to roughly USD 788 mn" – the same source said, noting impressive growth in the contribution of Russian exports to the aggregate turnover. According to the Kremlin's representative, the most dynamic cooperation ties between Russia and Syria have been established in the energy sector, as shown by successful activities carried out in Syria by such Russian companies as Stroytransgaz, Tatneft, MGNK Soyuzneftegaz and Zarubezhenergostroy.