Days of Moscow in Germany

Days of Moscow took place in Leipzig and Berlin on November 10-17, 2018. A delegation from the Russian capital, headed up by Minister of Moscow and Head of the Moscow Department of External Economic and International Relations Sergey Cheremin, visited the German cities to take part in the events.

 

Leipzig

Days of Moscow kicked off in Leipzig. “We’re happy that people who live in Leipzig have an opportunity to get to know Moscow’s culture and traditions a bit better. Our cities are not only partners; we are real friends. And relationships like this are in many ways the key to peace across the globe,” said burgomaster of Leipzig Skadi Jennicke during the festival’s opening ceremony. According to Dr. Jennicke, there are over 5,500 Russians living in Leipzig. Sergey Cheremin pointed out that the Russian side has fulfilled last year’s promise to hold Days of Moscow in Germany and said that it’s no coincidence the events kicked off in Leipzig. “Moscow and Leipzig have had friendly relations for over 20 years. Although the giant mega-city of Moscow regularly cooperates with many regions in Germany, we’ve had an especially warm relationship since 2014, we’re almost like family,” the minister said.

The head of the Moscow Department of External Economic and International Relations also pointed out that the DENKMAL exhibition, which is dedicated to accomplishments in the sphere of cultural and architectural monument preservation and was held in Leipzig in 2018, will take place in Moscow in 2019. The minister proposed that Leipzig pay a reciprocal visit to the friendly and welcoming Russian capital.

4 years ago, Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin and lord mayor of Leipzig Burkhard Jung signed a memorandum of cooperation between the two cities. Today, Moscow and Leipzig regularly cooperate across various spheres – transportation development, urban planning, healthcare and education, historical heritage preservation, and much more. Both cities are now taking part in restoring the St. Alexis Orthodox Church – a monument to Russian glory built in 1913. The Government of Moscow completely restored the golden dome of the church.

Round tables on archeology, environmental protection, and social welfare also took place within the scope of Days of Moscow.

 

Berlin

A business forum on the development of cooperation between the capitals of Russia and Germany took place within the scope of Days of Moscow in Berlin. The two sides discussed economic and investment potential, as well as tourism, on November 14 at Berlin Capital Club.

Head of the Moscow delegation, Minister, and Head of the Moscow Department of External Economic and International Relations Sergey Cheremin talked about how much the Russian capital has changed over the past few years. “7-8 years ago, Moscow was a major industrial center with a lot of pressure on the transport infrastructure. In 2011, the Mayor of Moscow made the decision to split up the city budget into 12 key programs that had specific performance metrics. As a result, all of the programs were implemented. Moscow became a comfortable, appealing, welcoming, and friendly city,” Sergey Cheremin said.

 

Moscow’s development was reflected in many international ratings:

■ In 6 years, Moscow has moved up from 124th to 35th place in the World Bank’s “Doing Business” rating.

■ In 2017, the International Transport Congress nominated Moscow for 1st place in terms of balanced public transportation development.

■ TomTom nominated Moscow as a leader in terms of parking space organization.

■ PWC put Moscow on its list of leaders, assessing 7 of the world’s cities across performance metrics like human capital development, readiness for innovation, and entrepreneurial support.

■ Foreign Direct Investments ranked Moscow first in terms of investment attractiveness in Eastern Europe.

■ Today, Moscow ranks first in Eastern Europe in terms of traffic safety, and the population’s mobility has increased. The city’s investments into highway construction and the establishment of an intelligent transport system have resulted in a 60% reduction in traffic accidents.

■ Moscow is also in the top three cities in the world in terms of metro construction speeds. In the next 5 years, another 170 km of new metro lines will be built, which will almost double its current length.

 

 

“The level of foreign investment in Moscow is always growing. Today, total direct investment volumes into Moscow’s economy amount to about 250 billion euros. Of course, EU countries are in the lead, and Germany is in first place with a total of 10 billion euros. The biggest German companies take part in all city improvement programs. Germany continues to be Moscow’s most important economic partner,” Sergey Cheremin added.

Today, over 12 million residents are registered in Moscow. The daily flow is about 15 million. In terms of gross regional product, Moscow is on par with medium-sized European countries like Austria, Finland, and the Czech Republic. “Moscow is under a lot of construction. In 6 years, about 50 million square meters of real estate have been built, and over 60% of investments come from private companies,” the minister said.

Yuri Stetsenko, the Russia’s Trade Representative in the Federal Republic of Germany, noted that every Moscow delegation visit leads to a genuine increase in interest from German business. “According to official statistics, trade turnover between Moscow and Germany has increased by 26% in the first 8 months of this year, and export volumes have grown by almost 37%,” Mr. Stetsenko said.

 

FACTS

Germany and Russia are actively developing investment cooperation. In just the first quarter of 2018, German companies invested over $312 million into the Russian economy. There are over 5,000 German companies currently working in Russia, which employ 270,000 Russian citizens.

 

Mr. Stetsenko noted the German side’s interest in Russian innovation. “The Moscow stand in Dusseldorf at MEDICA 2018, the largest medical exhibition in the world, featured over 70 Russian companies working in innovation. And this is just the medical sphere. A Center for Innovation Support opened with support from the Moscow University of Finance and Law. The center currently brings together 56 universities from different regions in Russia and Europe,” the trade representative said.

“Cooperation between our capitals is so close that there are a lot more daily flights to Moscow from Berlin than from Paris. This is a good reason to develop our cooperation in the spheres of science, the economy, and tourism,” said head of the Berlin Department of Tourism and CEO of Visit Berlin Burkhard Kieker. According to him, last year Berlin attracted more startup investments than London. And Germany’s economic cooperation with Moscow and Russia has contributed a lot to this.

The round tables “Using Green, Energy Efficient, and Environmentally Friendly Technologies” and “Exchange of Experience and Startup Development Support Systems in Moscow and Berlin” took place within the scope of the Days of Moscow business program in Berlin.