The readiness of German investors to work in Russia remains high in spite of sanctions; the amount of investments from Germany to RF in the first half year of 2016 is higher by 50% versus the respective period of the last year, German Ambassador to RF Rüdiger von Fritsch said to Moskovskij Komsomolets, RIA News reports.
As the ambassador noted, despite the fact that amid sanctions, it is quite difficult for investors from Germany to work in Russia and the number of investment companies decreased, however, the willingness to invest money in Russian projects remains permanently high.
“Nevertheless, the readiness to invest in Russia remains permanently high. In 2016, the investment rate reached indicators, which were not observed for quite long. As per the results of the year, the amount of investments is much more than for several previous years. According to Federal bank’s data, in the first half year of 2016, the amount of direct investments from Germany was by 50% less than for the respective period of 2015”, von Fritsch said.
The ambassador indicated science and culture as the important spheres for cooperation, where, according to him, there are many joint projects. German ambassador said that the cultural cooperation of Moscow and Berlin is “one of the strongest and meaningful bridges within German and Russian relationships”. He referred to the Russian-German Year of Young People Exchanges, the exhibition of paintings of the age of Reformation – Cranach the Elder and the Younger in Pushkin Museum, Hamburg Ballet under the direction of John Neumeier, which was in the Bolshoi Theatre, the Moscow concerts of the world-renowned German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.
“The opening of “Chapel of Peace” at the soldiers’ cemetery in Rossoshky near Volgograd, where the German and Soviet soldiers are buried, became very impressive for me. With this event, we emphasized our commitment to the debt of joint memory and maintenance of peace”, - he noted, adding that the cooperation in the sphere of civil society remains not simple.
The relationships between Russia and the West worsened due to the situation on Ukraine. EU countries initially imposed individual sanctions against individuals and then sectoral restrictive measures, which touch upon entire economic sectors. In response, Russia restricted the import of food products from EU countries. Since then, the sanctions of the European Union were regularly prolonged, last time – until the end of January 2017.
