Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (MSI) has entered a strategic agreement with Russia-based general insurer Ingosstrakh Insurance.

According to a statement by MSI, the partnership will give it access to Ingosstrak’s network of 83 branches across Russia, and its offices in six countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). This is in preparation for the influx of Japanese companies operating in the region, as economic cooperation between the two countries continues to grow following the Japan-Russia Summit Meeting in May 2016.

As part of the agreement, Ingosstrakh will set up an ‘MSI Japan desk’, which is a team dedicated to MSI’s Japanese clients and will be staffed by personnel from the Japanese insurer. Meanwhile, MSI will provide reinsurance support for Inggostrakh and share knowledge in underwriting and customer services.

MSI opened representative offices in Moscow and St. Petersburg in 2005, and the agreement is expected to heighten its level of service to Japanese clients in Russia by providing more insurance services and improved underwriting, claims support, and risk management.

Ingosstrakh is the fourth-largest general insurer in Russia in terms of gross written premiums. It was founded in 1947 as an independent company following a demerger of the state-owned insurer Gosstrakh.