The Russian Direct Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity investments in the Russian Federation, announced this week that it had teamed up with Abu-Dhabi’s department of finance to create a joint venture to invest in Russian infrastructure.

The $5 billion contribution from the Abu Dhabi department of finance is the largest investment from the Middle East ever made into Russia, according to Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive of the RDIF, who spoke to Private Equity News, sister publication of Financial News, about the joint venture.