Russia and Germany: Partnership in Dialogue
Anton Kobyakov, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation, met in Moscow with Klaus Mangold, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of TUI, former Chairman of the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations. During the meeting they discussed the cooperation priorities between Russian and German businesses, trends in development of trade relations and implementation of joint projects in both countries. They gave special consideration to joint events of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) which will take place on 24–26 May 2018.
In this bilateral meeting, Anton Kobyakov noted the active development of cross-sectoral and business ties between the countries. In 2017 the trade between Germany and Russia grew by 19.5%. “German enterprises successfully operate in virtually all regions of the Russian Federation, and about 6,200 German companies, for the most part representing small and medium-sized businesses, are registered in Russia,” he pointed out.
Klaus Mangold, in turn, expressed confidence in the success of the upcoming Forum in St. Petersburg, and also noted that the Smart Cities concept will receive special attention this year (a major investment project of the Yuzhny satellite town in the suburbs of St. Petersburg will be presented on the sidelines of SPIEF 2018). “We will see interesting ideas and original know-hows for comprehensive development of new territories to improve the economic efficiency of communities by implementing Smart City solutions,” said the professor.
Klaus Mangold also emphasized active and productive promotion of the Russian-German initiative on the digitalization of the economy. To recap, the foundation of this initiative was laid at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2017, when the agreement on cooperation and partnership between the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations was signed. The main objectives of the Russian-German initiative are the adoption of the best European practices in digitalization, innovation of the Russian economy and enhancement of its global market competitiveness.
RKlaus Mangold will moderate the Russia–Germany business dialogue on the theme of 'Partnership for Efficiency', which will be held as part of the business programme of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The event will take place on 24 May with the support of the Roscongress Foundation’s regional partner – the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations. Details are available in the Forum programme on the official website forumspb.com.
