On September 22nd, the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a podium discussion " Düsseldorf and Moscow - opportunities and challenges of bilateral economic cooperation." The event was held as part of the business program « Days of Düsseldorf in Moscow».
Participating in the discussion in the MCCI were the Lord Mayor of Düsseldorf, Mr. Thomas Gayzel, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy, Energy, Industry, Small Business and Crafts of North Rhine-Westphalia, Mr. Günther Hortsettski, the Minister of Moscow Government, Head of the Department for External Economic and International Relations, Mr. Sergey Cheremin and other officials .
In his opening speech, the President of the MCCI, Mr. Vladimir Platonov, said: "This year the MCCI marks its 25th anniversary and all this time we have maintained close economic ties with our partners in Düsseldorf. Despite the difficult economic and political climate, our countries and cities did not lose confidence in each other and that, I think, is most significant for our relationship. I hope that today's meeting will further the development of business relations. " The MCCI President thanked German guests for a wonderful jazz concert, "Sebastian Galer Trio", with the performance of Vadim Eylenkrig, the famous Russian trumpeter, which took place yesterday in the House of Music
"For us, Germany is a very important partner in the fields of innovation, supply of modern engineering products, development of foreign economic relations", - said Mr. Sergey Cheremin in his opening speech. "The purpose of our meeting today is to preserve and strengthen foreign economic relations and to continue close co-operation, despite the difficulties and sanctions", - underlined the Minister.
The Lord Mayor of Düsseldorf, Mr. Thomis Gayzel, speaking at the forum, noted the importance of maintaining friendship and partnership between the two cities, and expressed the hope that the discussion will allow to adopt effective and constructive solutions. «Today, Düsseldorf is the center of economic contacts and cooperation with Russia. For many Dusseldorf corporations and businesses, Russia is one of the most important partners», - he said. «Many German companies have their offices in Moscow. In this regard, it is important to continue and expand cooperation».
During the business forum, the participants discussed economic aspects of cooperation between Moscow and Düsseldorf, opportunities and challenges of the German-Russian economic cooperation. Both sides stressed the need to preserve and develop constructive dialogue and to maintain stable foreign economic relations, despite the prevailing adverse conditions.