On April 24, within the business programme of HANNOVER MESSE 2018 the round table 'Russian-German Business Dialogue' was held to share opinions on various aspects of the economic cooperation between Russia and Germany.
The event was attended by representatives of governmental authorities and business. The moderator of this discussion was Anna Belyaeva, Managing Director for International Development of REC Group. The discussion covered issues related to financial and non-financial support to exporters, opportunities for Russian and German companies in building bilateral cooperation, promoting start-ups, features of support mechanisms and other pressing issues.
According to the study carried out by Kiel University, the cumulative effect of the bilateral economic sanctions introduced in 2014 exceeded EUR 100 bln. Russia accounts for around 60% of these losses and the EU economy for about 40%. Surveys carried out among 800 members of the Russian-German Chamber of Foreign Trade for the past years have shown that companies operating in Russia question the political effectiveness of these sanctions. According to the recent business climate survey carried out by the Russian-German Chamber of Foreign Trade together with the Eastern Committee for the German Economy, the vast majority of surveyed companies (94%) vote for lifting the sanctions.
'If the activities of German and American companies in Russia continue to worsen, Asian companies, especially Chinese ones, will gradually fill the vacant niche’, said Mr Schepp, Chairman of the Russian-German Chamber of Foreign Trade. This could be considered as almost the consolidated opinion of the German business expressed in one form or another, both in Hanover and at other venues.
Examples of successfully operating companies given during the discussion and the range of support options destroy the thesis of many EEC experts groups that the focus solely on governmental raw materials groups in Russia keeps small and medium business from developing.
Victor Fokin, CEO of Energoservice LLC, mentioned the need for mutual recognition of certification testing results, especially in industries where the regulations of such testing are similar or the same. As the need to repeat certification in most cases becomes a barrier to trade in addition to the existing ones and for small companies of both countries – the actual ban of export, such work is needed by all.
The project of joint Russian-German tests of products for the electric power industry developed by Energoservice LLC and implemented as part of the memorandum between the Russian Expert Centre (REC) and the German Association of Electric Equipment, Electronics and Information Technologies (VDE) and Hannover Messe 2017 can become an example of solving this problem.
Russian representatives participated in this discussion:
German representatives participated in this discussion:
Reference: Energoservice LLC is an engineering company that has developed a range of products for overhead power lines – heavy-duty high-temperatures wires, OKGT, lightning rope, and bearing rope of contact grid for RZD, as well as road rope fencing. It is a member of RNK SIGRE and the winner of the first award of Rosseti PJSC 'For the Best Implemented Project - 2014'.
Article at the website of SIGREwww.cigre.ru/news/rnk/8905/