SHANGHAI, June 14 (RIA Novosti) -- Vnesheconombank finances Russian industrial exports to the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to the tune of $1 billion a year, the president of the state-owned Russian bank said Wednesday.

The leaders of the six SCO members - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia and China - will meet for a two-day summit Wednesday to mark five years since the regional security forum was founded in Shanghai in July 2001.

And Vladimir Dmitriyev told a meeting of SCO bankers prior to the meeting between national leaders that his institution was working well to secure funding for Russian export projects.

"Last year, we attracted about $500 mln from the State Development Bank of China to finance the export of Russian high-tech products to China," he said.

During the SCO summit in Shanghai, VEB and the State Development Bank of China are to sign an agreement on joint project financing, worth $500 mln.

"Vnesheconombank makes a substantial contribution to expanding Russian high-tech supplies to China," he said.

Energy-hungry China represents a huge export market for Russia as its energy needs continue to grow. It is also a major importer of Russian weaponry with military and technological cooperation between the two countries exceeding $2 billion a year.