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Thirteen ministers and several state secretaries had made the trip from Moscow to discuss specific issues with their German opposite numbers. The focus was on the modernisation partnership first agreed on three years ago.

 

Government agreements signed

 

At the end of the consultations, ten government agreements were signed. The Chancellor saw this as "evidence of the closely-knit contacts" between the two nations. The governments of Germany and Russia are launching new joint projects in the legal, financial, transport, environmental, research and cultural spheres. These involve power generation and high-performance computers on the one hand, and protecting peat moors and virgin forests on the other. For the period 2012/2013 diplomats agreed to organise a German Year in Russia, and a Russian Year in Germany.

 

Over and above these agreements, five economic agreements were signed. They ranged from support for medium-sized businesses to be provided by the KfW-Bankengruppe to modernising electricity networks, delivering combined heat and power plants and the construction of a tyre factory. "Russia is particularly interested in putting in place structures for smaller and medium-sized businesses," the Chancellor was happy to report. This is an area in which Germany has a wealth of experience to offer.

 

The evening before the consultations Angela Merkel and Dmitry Medvedev met in a smaller group. Talks focussed on international issues as well as bilateral relations. These included the situation in the euro zone, the efforts of the international community to resolve the conflicts in Libya and Syria, and developments in Trans-Dniester and Belarus.

 

Partnership for energy

 

After Germany’s decision to end the use of nuclear power plants, the issue of a future-oriented energy mix was discussed. Russian gas already plays an important part in Germany’s energy supply. Angela Merkel declared, however, that there was no question of significantly increasing imports of Russian gas. The German government’s energy concept is based primarily on stepping up the use of renewables.

 

German businesses are, in the meantime, preparing the way for a partnership with Russia in the extractive industries apart from gas and oil, e.g. metals used in high-tech products (rare earth elements). German high-tech businesses are also supporting the Russian government in its efforts to raise the level of energy efficiency in the country.

 

Partnership of governments, partnership of the people

 

Angela Merkel and Dmitry Medvedev both stressed that for good relations it is not enough in the long term to ensure close cooperation at government and business level. Civil society too must come together. The St Petersburg Dialogue, founded in 2001, aims to foster exchange in all age groups.

 

Within the scope of eight working groups, some 100 experts and citizens from Germany and Russia come together in the course of a year under the auspices of the St Petersburg Dialogue. They come from the realms of politics and business, education, culture and the media as well as a workshop for the future. The range of topics tackled is wide. Under the banner "modernisation partnership" the importance of a free press, freedom of information and medium-sized enterprises for a democratic society are discussed. The role of non-governmental organisations and churches within the state is another topic that comes up regularly. To this already wide range of issues come topical questions, like whether Olympic Games and FIFA World Cups can help foster positive national feelings in the 21^st century.

 

"I would like to see all issues arising from German-Russian relations discussed openly within the scope of the St Petersburg Dialogue," declared Angela Merkel, summing up the expectations of the governments. "The more independent you are, the happier we are to come to you," she said, encouraging participants to tackle sensitive issued too. "We expect you to produce new interesting ideas," agreed Dmitry Medvedev. Much in German-Russian relations depends on dealing openly and honestly with one another, he added.

 

A representative of the German-Russian youth parliament also called for exchanges of students, interns and au pairs to be stepped up. Over a period of several days, 50 young people from across Russia and Germany enjoyed extremely lively discussions.

 

Visa practices and educational qualifications to be reviewed

 

To date German authorities have been very reticent to grant visas. Within the scope of a step-by-step plan the German government will now be looking at the difficulties involved in complicated visa procedures. Next year we will be one step further along the way, promised Angela Merkel. For businessmen and women in particular, but also for students, trainees and tourists an intensive exchange is desirable. A visa warning file is to help combat visa abuse.

 

The German government also aims to make improvements in the recognition of Russian academic qualifications. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) entered into several agreements on academic cooperation in Hannover, from pure research to the joint development of new ceramic materials.

 

Germany conducts regular government consultations with a number of states including France, Italy, Poland and Spain. Since Chancellor Angela Merkel came to office, this system has been extended to cover Israel and India. The German-Russian government consultations in Hannover were the 13^th consultations. The last government consultations were held in Yekaterinburg in July 2010, chaired by the Chancellor and President Dmitry Medvedev.