Russia and Germany remain true partners
Russia and Germany remain true partners
Vyacheslav Solovyov | 13.07.2010, 16:39 |
The pressure by the German business community weigh heavily on German Chancellor, Angela Merkel as she departs for Yekaterinburg for Russia-German consultations under the St. Petersburg Dialogue. Analysts say that Merkel’s major task is to further improve bilateral cooperation with Russia.
German industrialists fear losing their position in Russia because of the resurgence of France and Italy on the Russian market.There is the so-called “Eastern Committee in Germany, working hard to strengthen the trade relationship between Germany and Eastern Europe.
In its latest report, the Committee criticized the inactivity of Berlin in developing economic contacts with Russia. In the opinion of German businessmen, Angela Merkel is focusing attention on transatlantic politics at the expense of ties with Russia. The German business community says that Merkel cannot ignore the German dependence on Russia since a cthird of the natural gas used in Germany comes from Russia. On the other hand, the Russian market represents a huge potential for German enterprises, a point to be examined in more details in Yekaterinburg.
The Russian-German meeting in Yekaterinburg is under the St. Petersburg Dialogue, a forum created by the former President of Russia, Vladimir Putin and the former Chancellor of Germany, Gerhardt Schroeder, during their meeting in the Russian capital in 2000. Among the objectives of the Forum are to bring the peoples of both countries closer, to lay to rest mutual prejudices and to improve bilateral relationships between the two nations. The yearly meeting between them is rotational; the main topic to be discussed on July 14th and 15th is “Russia and Germany in the next decades” The German Ambassador to Russia, Ulrich Brandenburg, speaking in an interview for VOR ahead of the Yekaterinburg meeting, recalled his meeting with President Medvedev at the presentation of Letters of Accreditation in the Kremlin.
"President Medvedev is quite satisfied with the state of the Russian-German strategic relationships, especially relating to European security, disarmament and last, but by no means the least, overcoming the economic crisis, said Brandenburg. These are important issues, which the cooperation between Russia and Germany can help solve by diplomatic methods," he said.
"President Medvedev also touched upon the issue of the strengthening of the Russian-German cooperation in the regions, a very important matter," declared Ambassador Brandenburg.
The holding of the Russia-German dialogue in the Urals, one of the most economically advanced regions in Russia, is hugely significant. Several bilateral projects connected with making the Russian economy more cost effective have been held in Yekaterinburg. Germany is the accepted world leader in energy effectiveness and Russia will do well to learn a thing or two from Berlin.
source: The Voice of Russia
Megjegyzések
Megjegyzés küldése