Vladimir Putin met with German business leaders on Friday, presidential web page reported.
As Germany is among Russia’s most important economic partners, “We highly value German business pragmatism and willingness to work together and we want to continue the consistent development of bilateral ties,” he said. “German investment in the Russian economy exceeds $20 bln, and the Russian investment in the German economy totals almost $10 bln. There are about 5K companies with German capital operating in Russia. Their cumulative business volume is $50 bln.”
“Germany is Russia’s second largest foreign trade partner after the People’s Republic of China. Quite recently Germany has been ranked first,” he noted. “In 2018, mutual trade grew by 20% and reached $60 bln. German companies export cutting-edge equipment and machinery to the Russian market, and also take part in the programs to develop and modernize Russian industry and infrastructure. In turn, Russia covers over a third of Germany’s demand for energy resources: 33% of its oil and 35% of its natural gas. Last year, a record volume of Russian gas fuel – 55.5 bln cubic meters – was delivered to Germany.”
Speaking of Russia’s economy, he pointed out, “Last year the GDP grew by 2.3%, and this year it will be a little bit smaller. Industrial production grew by 3%. The unemployment rate is 4.6%, and inflation is at 3.6%.”