MOSCOW, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - During his upcoming visit to the Netherlands on October 30, Russia's foreign minister will give priority to trade and economic ties between the two countries, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

In an interview with RIA Novosti, Andrei Nesterenko said the Netherlands is "one of Russia's major trade and economic partners" and "not only a leading consumer and distributor of Russian natural gas in Europe but also a major foreign investor in gas exploration."

He said Sergei Lavrov will also discuss opportunities for future Russian-Dutch projects in energy, agriculture, transport, hi-tech, infrastructure, telecommunications, and support for small and medium-sized businesses, including on the regional level.

Nesterenko said the two parties would also consider a number of intergovernmental economic agreements, in particular, on the mutual protection of capital investment.