Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced hope that the official Moscow visit by Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha will be a turning point in bilateral relations. He hopes that the downward trend in two-way trade in 2001 will be reversed. Trade and economic contacts were in the focus of the talks between Putin and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the President's press service said. Right after the meeting the President left for Almaty to attend a meeting on cooperation and security measures in the region which will be attended by the government and state leaders of 16 countries.During the Moscow visit of the Bulgarian Prime Minister the two sides are expected to sign a declaration for trade, economic, and scientific cooperation, an annex to the Agreement on Settlement of the Mutual Obligations between the Russian Federation and Bulgaria, and an interdepartmental agreement on cooperation between the two countries' Culture Ministries.