Russia 100715 Basic Political Developments

RIA: Russia has no plans for large-scale renewable energy projects - energy minister

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100715/159820652.html
11:39 15/07/2010

YEKATERINBURG, July 15 (RIA Novosti) - Although Russia plans to increase sources of renewable energy, the country will never implement large-scale projects in the field, Russia's Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said.

"I am wary of the idea of implementing large-scale [renewable energy projects] and think that this is not really relevant for Russia," Shmatko said at the Russian-German St. Petersburg Dialogue forum, currently underway in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.

He said that although Russia currently has very few sources of renewable energy, by the 2015 the country plans to increase the proportion to 4.5%.

"We are going to expand a proportion of renewable energy sources," he said. "We can apply this technology locally, but we will never use it on a large-scale basis."

The Russian companies Rostekhnologii (Russian Technology) and RusHydro will sign a partnership agreement with Siemens AG at the forum on the establishment of a joint venture for manufacturing hydroelectric power units.

Itar-Tass: Medvedev, Merkel to attend final session of Petersburg Dialogue

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15319695&PageNum=0

15.07.2010, 02.33

MOSCOW, July 15 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel will attend the final session of the forum of Russian and German civil societies, known as Petersburg Dialogue.

This will be their third meeting within the framework of the forum.

According to presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko, “Cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Russia and Germany is steady and multi-level.”

“Broad contacts have been established between public organisations, parliaments and regions. This cooperation is a cornerstone of the Russian-German strategic partnership,” he said.

The Petersburg Dialogue will hold its tenth meeting on the sidelines of the Russian-German Yekaterinburg summit and focus on the Russian and German societies in the coming decade. There will be eight working groups dedicated to politics, economy, civil society, education, science and healthcare, culture, media and churches in Europe, Prikhodko said.

The first events of the forum began in July 13. On Wednesday, July 14, its participants discussed the main topic of the session. The discussion was started by First Vice Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov, who is the chairman of the Russian Coordination Committee.

Russia and Germany in the next millennium is the topic of this jubilee session. Over 300 Russian and German politicians and businesses came to participate in the forum.

“The event has become an important factor for the development of partnership between Russia and Germany,” Zubkov said.

“Globalisation removes borders between nations and countries, and Russia and Germany share many joint interests,” he said.

Misharin said that it had been Germany that became the Sverdlovsk Region’s first partner back in the 1990s. He spoke about the cooperation with Baden-Virtenberg and Saxony, about the partnership with German enterprises in energy saving technologies, machine building and metal processing.

The Petersburg Dialogue was organised at the initiative of Vladimir Putin and Gerhard Schroeder after their meeting on September 25, 2000 in Moscow. The purpose of the event is to bring closer the two countries, to overcome existing prejudices and to develop mutual understanding between Germany and Russia.

The representatives of the CIS, Russia and Germany take part in the forum. Russia and Germany host the annual event in turn, and usually the forums are timed to coincide with the German-Russian intergovernmental consultations. Russia’s president and Germany’s chancellor usually take part in the meetings (Vladimir Putin in 2001-2007, since 2008 – Dmitry Medvedev; Gerhard Schroeder in 2001-2003, since 2006 – Angela Merkel).

Medvedev and Merkel arrived in Yekaterinburg on Wednesday and had an informal dinner. Their schedule for Thursday is quite busy and includes consultations, a meeting with Russian and German businesspeople, participation in the Petersburg Dialogue, and a one-to-one meeting.

A set of documents will be signed after the talks. Medvedev and Merkel will then give a joint press conference.

Germany remains one of the main economic partners of Russia, and this cooperation persevered through the turmoil of the global crisis. After a decline by 40.6 percent in 2009, bilateral trade stabilised in the first quarter of this year.

In the first four months of 2010, trade turnover increased 1.5 times to 15.2 billion U.S. dollars.

Investment cooperation is also on the rise. As of the end of March, the overall volume of accumulated German investments in the Russian economy had exceeded 20.2 billion U.S. dollars.

Prikhodko said the two leaders would “compare positions on economic affairs, including large joint projects, the construction of the Nord Stream pipeline and strategic alliances of Russian and German companies.”

“The efforts targeted for an upgraded model of business interaction are consonant with the Russian modernisation policy and imply diversification of relations, production localization and Russian investments in German companies with the goal of industrial and technological cooperation,” he said.

“Strategic partnership between Russia and Germany is characterised by a close and frank dialogue held at different levels and a mutual wish for rapprochement,” Prikhodko said, adding, “The annual interstate consultations held at the top level since 1998 are fundamental for the bilateral relations.”

“The Yekaterinburg summit, which will be the first full-scale intergovernmental meeting since the German parliamentary elections 2009, is bound to strengthen the potential of Russian-German relations with the emphasis on the fulfilment of the Modernisation Partnership strategy, to give a boost to economic and investment aspects of the bilateral cooperation and constructive interaction in the international arena,” he said.

Medvedev and Merkel will also meet with Russian and German businessmen on the summit sidelines.

“The regular and fruitful dialogue between the Russian president and the German federal chancellor is the solid foundation for the sustainable development of Russian-German cooperation,” he said.

The Eastern Committee of German Economy expects concrete results from the Russian-German consultations. The talks should be used to advance modernisation through Russian-German efforts and to coordinate joint projects, the committee said in a statement.

Germany as the major industrial nation remains Russia’s partner in upgrading its industry, the chairman of the Eastern Committee of German Economy, Klaus Mangold, said. He described the Russian-German cooperation in creating an innovation centre in Skolkovo near Moscow as “an important signal.”

The Eastern Committee of German Economy supports Russia’s soonest possible accession to the World Trade Organisation.

“After the sixteen-year talks on the WTO accession at last it is necessary to have a final political say both in the United States and in Russia,” Mangold said.

Yekaterinburg will become the first leg of Merkel’s foreign tour. The Chancellor will also visit Beijing to meet with the Chinese authorities. On July 18 she will visit Astana, Kazakhstan.

Itar-Tass: Russia, Germany to sign cooperation agreements in Yekaterinburg

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15319989

15.07.2010, 08.19

MOSCOW, July 15 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian-German intergovernmental consultations in Yekaterinburg on Thursday will result in signing of a set of documents on cooperation in various sectors, Russia’s presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko said.

“Signing of a set of documents will be a ‘visible’ result of the 12th round of the intergovernmental consultations,” he said. “Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel will witness the signing procedure.”

“The set of documents will reflect the ongoing partnership with Germany on various topics – from management training programmes and large-scale cultural events to joint production of wind power stations,” Prikhodko said.

Russia’s Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina and her German counterpart will sign an Intergovernmental memorandum on management training programmes, he said. Russia’s minister of culture and Germany’s governmental representative will make a joint statement on the preparations for 2011-2013 exhibitions – The Bronze Age – Europe without Borders and Russian Germans: a Millennium of History, Culture and Arts.

The two governments will sign agreements on cooperation in physical culture and sports, health care, a document on programmes for small and medium businesses, a memorandum on mutual understanding between the Skolkovo Foundation and the Siemens Company. Russia’s Railroads Company /RZD/ is expected to sign a document on a joint venture to produce, supply and service modern trains and on mutual understanding in cargo sorting.

Traditionally, Russia’s and German’s members of the governments will make reports on the work done, on the achievements and will outline further directions for the cooperation.

The following members of the Russian government take part in the intergovernmental consultations in Yekaterinburg: Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Culture Alexander Avdeyev, Minister of Healthcare and Social Development Tatiana Golikova, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev, Minister of Transport Igor Levitin, Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina, Minister of Education and Science Andrei Fursenko, Minister of Nature Yuri Trutnev, Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Khristenko, Minister of Energy Sergei Shmatko, Presidential Aide Arkady Dvorkovich, Presidential Special Envoy for Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoi.

Russia’s business community is represented by the head of Russia’s Union of Industrials and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin, Renova’s CEO Viktor Vekselberg, RZD’s President Vladimir Yakunin, Severstal’s CEO Alexei Mordashov, the head of Rostechnologii state corporation Sergei Chemezov, VEB’s CEO Vladimir Dmitriyev.