The German-Russian Economic Alliance and the Center for German Studies of the Institute of European Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, with the support of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, held a Conference on “Russia and Germany today: the choice of directions and areas for economic collaboration”.
Mr. Vitaly Shmel’kov, the Chairman of the Board of the German-Russian Economic Alliance, made an introductory speech about the current political situation and the most important aspects of the conference’s theme.
"Today we are living in the “sixth technological mode”, which has already begun. This is the era of the Nano, the digital money for the modern world. The era of “silicon” is over. The world has entered this new phase against the backdrop of the three very important factors: a slow but steady economic crisis, an increase in conflicts and a severe coronavirus pandemic.
It is precisely these three factors that will determine the economic development in 2021”, he summed up. According to his data, 2020 was the worst year in the last century for the world’s economy. "All countries, except China, are showing negative GDP results. Germany stands at - 5.3%, Russia - 4%.
The forecasts of the GDPs’ growth and recovery of lost positions in 2021 are doubtful. But it is important to understand that business development in the post-crisis period with weakened competition provide certain advantages, especially for new players," claimed Mr. Shmel’kov.
He also reminded that the so called “green hydrogen program" is now entering the European scene, with the leadership of Germany, which can become the object of cooperation with Russia, possibly supporting this project in scientific, technological and resources’ aspects. But politics and sanctions are a hurdle.
The relevance of the theme of the Conference, according to its organizers, is beyond doubt. The situation and interstate relations are being amended and reformatted. The agenda includes the correlation of politics and economics: in what direction and in which areas should the Russian business, within the “sixth technological mode”, expect to excel and how to realize its interests even in an unfavourable environment.
Mr. Vladislav Belov, the Deputy Director of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Head of the Center for German Studies, made a presentation of “Russia-Germany: the Crisis of Political Trust as a Factor of Asymmetry in Economic Relations”. He elaborated on the issues of existing contradictions.
The number of German firms in the Russian market has decreased. So, in 2019, the number of registered German business entities was 4,274, and in 2020 there are 3,971entities left. "Basically, those firms that have a formal representation , consisting of a single person, are leaving.
And, of course, while every euro and every ruble is accounted for, they started closing those representative offices that are not viable and make no sense to maintain. The main productive businesses on the Russian markets remained!”, stated Mr. Belov.
Mr. Andreas Steininger, the Professor and Doctor of Law at the Wismar Oriental Institute, identified three factors that hinder economic cooperation between Germany and Russia: European sanctions, extraterritorial U.S. sanctions, and retaliatory sanctions of Russia.
"The picture that is painted looks bleak, of course. But recently, a law on special investments was passed in parallel to the sanctions. This is a very good law. We are talking about foreign firms that produce in Russia, while receiving subsidies and tax breaks," Mr. Steininger said.
Mr. Alexander Kotov, the Senior Researcher at the Center for German Studies at the Institute of European Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, delivered a report on "Russia and Germany: opportunities and realities in the development of bilateral economic cooperation”.
Mr. Christoph Neuberg, the Chief Executive of the Chemnitz Chamber of Commerce, spoke about Germany’s losses because of sanctions: "The German economy lacks five and a half billion euros, which the sanctions against Russia are costing it. From the point of view of the European Union, that's 21 billion euros a year”.
The experts of the conference provided the analysis of the situation, showed directions, vectors and niches of conducting successful business for Russian entrepreneurs. Critical points were discussed separately during the discussion at the end of the event.