At present, the two countries are maintaining an active political dialogue, with regular political advisory meetings and exchange of delegations on various levels. In January 2001, Israeli President Moshe Katsav paid an official visit to Russia, while Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited Russia in September 2001, September 2002, and November 2003.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Israel on April 27-29, 2005, meeting Israeli President Moshe Katsav and holding talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
On May 9, 2005, Moshe Katsav attended Russian ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II in Moscow.
On July 17, 2006, Israeli President Shimon Peres met with Russian President Vladimir Putin within the Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia in Kazakhstan.
On October 17-19, 2006, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert came on a working visit to Moscow and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and had talks with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
On October 18, 2007, Ehud Olmert met with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
On October 6-7, 2008, Ehud Olmert met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and had talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.
Over the last years, Israel and Russia have built a solid legislative base in mutual relations. On March 20, 2008, the two countries signed an agreement on mutual visa-free travel, which came into effect on September 20, 2008.
The trade turnover between Israel and Russia has seen constant growth, with $2.53 billion in 2007 compared to $12 million in 1991. Russia's exports to Israel totaled $2.03 billion in 2007, while Israel's imports to Russia accounted for $530 million. Rough diamonds, diamonds, and precious metals account for 70% of Russia's exports, while non-ferrous and ferrous metals account for about 20%. About 40% of Israel's imports to Russia are machinery and equipment.
The two countries have a number of joint agro-industrial projects implemented in Russia.
The Joint Israeli-Russian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation was set up in 1995 to discuss various issues, such as prospects for launching large-scale joint projects in energy, industrial and transport construction, telecommunications, medicine and medical industry, aircraft building, and outer space exploration. The Commission is co-chaired by Viktor Zubkov, the Prime Minister of Russia from September 2007 to May 2008, and Eli Yishai, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labour of Israel.
In late April of 2006, the countries signed the agreement on cooperation between Russia's Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Israeli Economic Organisations (FIEO).
Russia and Israel continue to cooperate in outer space exploration, with six Israeli satellites launched into orbit with Russian booster rockets since 1998.