British companies are travelling to the Russian city of Sochi to seek out new investment opportunities as it prepares to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

The trip, led by UKTI East Midlands, is the latest in a series of visits to Russia aiming to promote bilateral trade and capitalize on Russia's growing market and the Government's drive to modernize and diversify the economy.

There are over 1,000 British companies already doing business in Russia, but the UKTI is seeking to strengthen this bilateral relationship with a programme of visits to regions across Russia. Peter Hogarth, UK Trade & Investment East Midlands International Trade Director comments: "Russia is a market of significant potential and we have run successful UKTI visits for East Midlands businesses for the past twelve years. This year we took companies to Moscow and facilitated introductions to Russian counterparts and we are honoured that the Governor of Krasnodar has invited a trade delegation from the East Midlands to visit Sochi. The 2014 Winter Olympics is an exciting prospect and the opportunity for businesses in the East Midlands to be part of it must not be missed."

Last month, six companies from the East Midlands took part in a market visit to Moscow to explore opportunities across a range of sectors. The delegation included Exalto UK, a manufacturing company, Mirage Health Group, a leading provider of medical and dental products, and Jet International, an import, export and manufacturing company. Returning from Moscow, Dennis Rawle, General Manager of Exalto UK, comments: "Russia is an up and coming country, and as a small business from the Midlands Exalto UK is looking to take advantage of the investment opportunities". Rawle and other members of the delegation will be passing on their experiences at a conference hosted by the East Midlands International Trade Association at Pride Park, Derby, on 25 March, alongside representatives of companies already operating in Russia. 

The effort to deepen UK-Russia economic ties has support from the top level of the UK Government, with Minister for Europe Chris Bryant saying ahead of his visit last month: "We in the UK know that Russia is a country of enormous potential. Our companies invest heavily here and want to invest more, our citizens travel here and want to see more of this vast country our employers already work with bright, hard working Russians and are keen to share more of their experience and skills and to learn from Russian experience. That's why we fully support President Medvedev as he seeks to unlock this potential."