German businesses in Russia should think of developing cooperation with Russia after epidemic ends - ambassador
MOSCOW. April 9 (Interfax) - German Ambassador to Russia Geza Andreas von Geyr has called on German businesses in Russia to think together how to preserve and develop German-Russian business cooperation during and after the crisis prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.
"We, the embassy, attach great significance to helping German businesses here in Russia come out of the crisis prompted by the coronavirus in good, strong, and even better shape, as much as possible under the current circumstances," von Geyr said in a statement circulated on Thursday.
"We look forward to a robust trade exchange, stable interrelations in the energy sector, close and innovative cooperation in the economy and scientific research fields, and so on. This includes, for instance, our interest in the German language being studied in Russia, which can also be seen as an investment in future economic interaction between our countries," he said, adding that this "post-crisis stage is already beginning now."
"Let's think together how we can facilitate the continued development of German-Russian interrelations with new initiatives, making use of the experience we have gained and are yet to gain during this crisis," von Geyr said.
"Perhaps the Year of Germany in Russia, which we plan to start in the second half of the year, will take place just at the right time. We can use it together as a platform to provide a new incentive and add a new boost to our cooperation following the pauses prompted by the coronavirus; this also concerns our economic interrelations," he said.
"Not interrupting our dialogue: we, as German government representatives, strongly insist on this in contacts with our Russian partners," von Geyr said.
"We expect with optimism that various bilateral consultative forums will take place without long pauses and their frequency will be the same; except now, they will be arranged in videoconference and audioconference formats. After all, the stability of this exchange will continue to be of key importance; perhaps we are beginning to realize this even more clearly than in regular working conditions," he said.