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The event was moderated by Vladimir Ilyichev, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Michael Harms, Executive Director of the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, Co-Chairman of the German contingent of the Council, as well as Matthias Shepp, Chairman of the Board of the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce (RGCC), Head of the Representation of the German Economy in Russia, and Co-Chairman of the German contingent of the Council.
During the meeting, participants discussed topics including:
- opportunities for cooperation with German medical and technical companies as part of the national project "Health";
- expansion and diversification of Russian exports;
- conditions of entry to Russia for foreign citizens;
- localisation of foreign software products.
Chairman of the Russian contingent of the Council, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Reshetnikov noted the need to find new growth points, including with regard to the creation of joint projects in the field of healthcare, IT, logistics and green energy. He also stated that he was confident that the Russian-German Economic Council would become a successful instrument for implementing joint plans.
Alexei Mordashov, Member of the RSPP Management Board Bureau, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Severstal PJSC, stated that there were a number of practical steps being taken by member companies of the RSPP and the RGCC.
In particular, A. Mordashov supported the creation of a joint Russian-German pilot project for the development of a pilot plant for hydrogen production, and also stressed the importance of strengthening the existing formats.
In addition, Alexei Mordashov reminded participants of the German-Russian Year of Economy and Sustainable Development 2020‑2022, launched in late 2020 under the auspices of Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and Heiko Maas, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Based on the results of a survey of entrepreneurs, Vladimir Padalko, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, outlined the main challenges faced by Russian business, namely:
the downward trend in Russia’s trade with Germany, widespread bureaucracy of the German authorities in foreign trade operations with Russia, contractual supply deadlines being missed due to complications in obtaining permissions to fulfil contracts, the complex and expensive product certification procedures in the European Union as a whole, and particularly in Germany, as well as the worsening media coverage of Russian-German relations, which has a negative impact on cooperation and investment.
At the end of the meeting, participants decided to conduct joint work on a regular basis in the designated areas, and also to start subsequent Council meetings with a summary of the work that has been carried out.
For reference: The RSPP was selected as operator of the German-Russian Year of Economy and Sustainable Development 2020‑2022 for the Russian delegation. The German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations is the operator for the German delegation. Official website of the German-Russian Year of Economy and Sustainable Development 2020‑2022: https://российско-германский-год-экономики.рф/year/