Political Stability a Precondition for Russia's Economic Advance

Current political stability in Russia is a good precondition for the country's economic development, a Russian official said on the third Day of Russian Economy in Frankfurt-on-Main on Thursday.

Ivan Materov, Russia's Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister, who leads a Russian delegation, indicated that this is one of the foundations for successful cooperation with other countries. "The main thing is that we have every basis for long-term operation," he emphasised.

According to the Russian deputy minister, trade between Russia and Germany in 2001 peaked at 25 billion euros. Materov pointed out that this year may see some drop in trade between the countries but on the whole economic relations are "coming along fine." Andrea de Metier, member of the German Commerzbank, praised traditional Days of Russian Economy in Frankfurt-on-Main. In his view, bilateral cooperation is based "on precise knowledge of the state of affairs" in the national economy of each of the partners, and this is served by "a frank and interested exchange of views" between German and Russian representatives of industrial and business groups in Frankfurt.