Nizhny Novgorod region governor discusses cooperation prospects with German ambassador

On July 1, 2014 the head of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Valery Shantsev, met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Russian Federation, Rudiger von Fritsch, and discussed prospects of business cooperation between Germany and the Nizhny Novgorod region.

According to Valery Shantsev, Germany remains a major economic partner of the Nizhny Novgorod region. "Presently, our turnover has approached the level of $800 million. At the meeting with the ambassador and representatives of German companies, we came to conclusion that this was not the limit. We already have about 30 joint ventures with the German capital, there are leading German companies on the market. Most importantly, our partners appreciate the fact that we create a good environment for investment," said the head of the region.

In turn, Rudiger von Fritsch said: "There are three reasons, from which I can say that we have very good prerequisites for development. Firstly, the head of the region personally does a lot to promote economic interests of the Nizhny Novgorod region. In addition, we already have a very successful experience of cooperation. For instance, today I visited GAZ automotive works and saw how cooperation with Volkswagen and Mercedes was developing. Thirdly, in 2018, the Nizhny Novgorod region will host the FIFA World Cup, and German companies show great interest in the projects related to the preparation for this event. I believe that cooperation will develop well, because we have a lot in common. It can not be otherwise."

On September 10-12, 2014, the Nizhny Novgorod region will host the Third International Business Summit 2014. The summit is organized by the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod region, with the support of the Government of the Russian Federation. As the head of the region Valery Shantsev noted, this year, the forum will focus primarily on discussions of major investment projects, including the construction of a high-speed railroad.

"We proposed the platform of the International Business Summit, which will take place in Nizhny Novgorod in September to hold the first meeting of the Association of subjects and cities connected with a network of high-speed railway traffic. All participants in the meeting, representatives of the regions and ministries, agreed to this proposal," said Valery Shantsev.

According to the Statistics Agency of Nizhny Novgorod, the volume of investment attracted annually to the Nizhny Novgorod region has grown 4.2 times since 2005 (272.2 billion rubles, as of 2013). The volume of foreign investment has increased ten times (1043.6 million U.S. Dollars as of 2013).

In the Nizhny Novgorod region, investment in fixed assets in the first quarter of 2014 amounted to 47.077 billion rubles, which was 7.1 percent more than in the first quarter of 2013. Most investments - 62.6 percent - are internal funds, whereas the rest are attracted assets.