After four years of absence due to Moscow's war in Ukraine, members of the German business community and far-right politicians are set to attend an upcoming economic forum in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg.
Taking place from June 3-6, the economic forum will be hosted by President Vladimir Putin as in previous years. It will also hold an event on the theme of culture as a bridge-builder in times of crisis.
"Not least with a view to the period following a ceasefire, we want, like other major Western countries, to maintain the economic bridge to Russia and protect the more than €100 billion of German assets in Russia," Matthias Schepp, chairman of the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce, told dpa.
Amid continuing Western sanctions on thousands of Russian companies, organizations and individuals, US and French representatives returned to the event last year, participating in its so-called business dialogue component.
"The West should not leave Russia, its large market and its raw materials to Asia in the long term," said Schepp. Chinese nationals alone founded 1,400 new companies in Russia in the first quarter of this year, he noted.
According to the programme of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), German participants in the business dialogue include Stefan Dürr, a dairy producer operating in Russia with the EkoNiva Group, and Thomas Bruch, the longstanding managing director of Globus Holding.
The Globus chain is one of 1,600 German companies still active in Russia, with an estimated turnover of around €20 billion last year, according to the chamber.
However, due to the sanctions, the trade volume between Germany and Russia last year fell beneath €10 billion. Until the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Germany was Russia's largest European trading partner, with a volume of €59.7 billion in 2021 and €80 billion at its peak in 2012.
AfD politicians attending
Politicians from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) have also been invited to the forum.
Markus Frohnmaier, a member of parliament and the AfD's chairman in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg, set off on Sunday. "Germany needs a policy that once again places greater emphasis on security of supply, competitiveness and the interests of its own citizens," he said.
Frohnmaier said he is aware "that this trip is viewed with sensitivity," but emphasized that his participation "does not imply any endorsement of the war in Ukraine."
Organizers said Jörg Urban, the AfD chairman in the eastern state of Saxony and a member of the state parliament, is also taking part, as is the European Parliament lawmaker Petr Bystron, according to the Bild tabloid.
According to the organizers, German participants will also include the conductor Justus Frantz, Berlin publisher Holger Friedrich and filmmaker and journalist Hubert Seipel.
Business survey: Germans staying in Russia
According to a new survey of the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce's 750 members on the business climate, almost all companies plan to remain in Russia due to the significance of its market. Three-quarters of the 265 respondents said they were satisfied with the development of their business in Russia – despite high losses due to the sanctions.
Two-thirds are convinced that the West's punitive measures are having a significant (49%) or very significant (18%) impact on the Russian economy. Just over a third of companies believe the sanctions are causing more harm to Germany than to Russia, and more than half said they were harming Germany and Russia equally.
Regarding a resumption of German purchases of Russian gas and oil, 65% wanted this as soon as possible, and 31% backed the move "only once the fighting in Ukraine has ceased."
- German execs
- Far-right politicians
- Russian event
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
