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On 2 June 2021, the first day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), a Cooperation and Partnership Agreement was signed between the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) and the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce (GRCC) on the establishment of the "German-Russian Mobility Partnership" (GRMP).
On the Russian side, the agreement was signed by RSPP President, Alexander Shokhin, and on the German side by Chairman of the Executive Board of the GRCC, Matthias Schepp.
"German business has a large and well-established presence in Russia in transport and mobility. On the one hand, there are the leading global logistics giants, such as Rhenus, Kuehne + Nagel, DHL and Hellmann, and then there are the large flagship projects, such as the high-speed trains manufactured by Siemens, which run between Moscow and St. Petersburg," said Matthias Schepp. "Russia is an important link between Europe and Asia, between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union. In order to increase trade between these two major European economies, progress is urgently needed on the 'green customs corridor'."
Alexander Shokhin noted that the RSPP and the GRCC are already successfully implementing the German-Russian Initiative for Digitalisation of the Economy (GRID), the agreement on which was also signed at SPIEF back in 2017. He supported the creation of a "green customs corridor".
The GRMP was established in order to develop and implement innovative solutions in the development of a customer-oriented approach, including the creation of a cross-sector partnership mobility network, and also to foster mutually beneficial cooperation on the digital transformation of supply chain mobility for Industry 4.0 based on the principles of competitive performance, social and eco-efficiency.
This event was the culmination of extensive preparatory work by experts from the two countries.
On 25 February 2021, within the framework of the German-Russian Year of Economy and Sustainable Development 2020‑2022, the Transport and Logistics Subcommittee of the RSPP International Cooperation Committee held a round table at the RSPP on the project "Mobility of Multimodal Supply Chain in Economic and Trade Cooperation between Russia and Germany.”
Following the discussion, the participants agreed to arrange a networking platform for companies participating in the German-Russian project at all stages of delivery, in order to develop a mobile multimodal supply chain in economic and trade cooperation between Russia and Germany, exchange experience and best practices in the use of seamless technologies in the multimodal supply chain along the St. Petersburg - Hamburg and Astrakhan - Hamburg routes, and also to create a German-Russian Council for the Mobility of the Multimodal Supply Chain, bringing together Russian and German companies.
On 19 April 2021, there was a joint meeting of experts of the Transport and Logistics Subcommittee of the RSPP International Cooperation Committee, the Institute of Applied Economics of Railway Transport of the St. Petersburg State Transport University, the Research Centre for the Innovation-driven Development of Passenger Rail Travel of the St. Petersburg State Transport University, and the International Research Institute for Advanced Systems, on "Creating an Industry 4.0 Mobility Ecosystem".
The meeting participants adopted a Resolution, and also noted the importance of regular open discussions of bottlenecks and constraints for potential international cooperation. The following areas for developing an Industry 4.0 mobility ecosystem were proposed: developing supply chains for Industry 4.0; geographic connectivity; developing cities and agglomerations; building an innovation skills base as part of the German-Russian Year of Economy and Sustainable Development 2020‑2022.
According to this Agreement, cooperation between the RSPP and the GRCC is aimed at developing the mobility of geographic connectivity, developing supply chain mobility for Industry 4.0, in particular mobility in the digital transformation of transport and logistics companies, establishing a "green corridor", establishing joint Russian and German teams for mobility ecosystem development, cooperation, technology exchange, a customer-oriented approach, exchanging experience and best practices in the use of seamless technologies in supply chain management for Industry 4.0 companies, ensuring mobility in e-commerce, and, finally, developing international scientific and technological cooperation in the field of mobility.
For reference: In late 2020, the German-Russian Year of Economy and Sustainable Development 2020‑2022 was launched 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. 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. The official website of the German-Russian Year of Economy and Sustainable Development 2020‑2022: https://russiagermany.ru/year/