Premier McAllister: Why Lower Saxony hosts the Petersburg Dialogue

The 11th annual assembly of the Petersburg Dialogue took place between July 17 and July 19, 2011 in the cities of Wolfsburg and Hannover, in the German State of Lower Saxony.  Launched in 2001 by then-President of Russia Vladimir Putin and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, the Petersburg Dialogue is the main bilateral discussion forum between Russia and Germany aimed at promoting closer ties not only between the two countries’ political and economic spheres, but above all between their civil societies. The program of this year’s meeting, which was hosted in Lower Saxony for the first time, focused largely on mutual efforts to promote modernization in areas such as the rule of law, environmental protection and energy efficiency, as well as social relations in a market economy. It was followed by bilateral talks between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Ahead of the meeting, Modern Russia spoke to David McAllister, Lower Saxony’s premier, on the significance of hosting the Petersburg Dialogue, his state’s cooperation with Russian regions and opportunities for Lower Saxony to support Russia’s modernization efforts.  

This year’s St. Petersburg Dialogue is taking place between July 17 and 19 in the cities of Wolfsburg and Hannover, both located in the State of Lower Saxony. Why is it important for Lower Saxony to host this event, and what results do you hope to achieve?

It is a great success for Lower Saxony to have been chosen to host the Petersburg Dialogue, and today, we are proud to move from our location in the middle of Germany to the center stage of international politics. This is an acknowledgement of our long-lasting and particularly close ties to Russia, which can be traced back to the 17th century and have reached a new dimension after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. We have worked hard to host the Petersburg Dialogue in Lower Saxony, and I am glad to be able to welcome the participants to our State this week.

History teaches us how important good relations and mutual understanding between Russia and Germany are.  This cannot be achieved through political and economic contacts only, but also requires an extensive dialogue about our values and our objectives. Both sides benefit from exchanging experience because both are industrial nations that face many common challenges in the 21st century. I therefore expect open, critical und constructive talks in the working groups and panels, and I am looking forward to the outcomes of these talks on Tuesday. 

I specifically want to emphasize the role of the German-Russian Youth Parliament, which will meet in Lower Saxony’s State Parliament. This opportunity to get to know each other and to become aware of the common challenges they face will help our young generations shape the future of German-Russian relations in a positive way.

Lower Saxony has a long tradition of cooperating with Russia, having established special partnerships with the regions of Perm and Tyumen back in the early 1990s. What do these partnerships consist of and what results have they brought so far?
 
Since the end of the Soviet Union, Lower Saxony has been determined to support Russia’s economic, social and democratic modernization. Early on, the government of Lower Saxony decided to form two partnerships with Russian regions: with the region of Tyumen in 1992 and with the region of Perm in 1993. In recent years, environmental protection and the exchange of experiences in judicial issues have become new thematic priorities, while the promotion of the German language, cultural activities and sports a have always been part of our collaboration.  These ties are complemented by the partnerships between the State Parliament of Lower Saxony and the legislative bodies of Perm and Tyumen, as well as by contacts at the local level such as the town twinning between Celle and Tyumen.

Our closest relations are shaped by the numerous people from Lower Saxony and Russia who have gotten to know each other and have worked together over the last 20 years thanks to our partnership. We are talking about countless personal experiences here. This has allowed all of us to become more aware of international developments in general and improve our understanding of our partners and the specific situations they face.

I would like to highlight the example of our exchange with Perm in the area of sports. This exchange includes youth meetings, the detachment of trainers and the organization of training camps in the disciplines of biathlon, hockey, swimming, judo and fencing.  Young fencers and swimmers from Lower Saxony are actually in Perm as we speak.

What plans do you have to deepen cooperation between Lower Saxony and Russia?

I would like to mention two examples. First, a few weeks ago, the Clausthal Technical University and the Tyumen State University for petrol and natural gas decided to create a double degree in petroleum engineering and to launch common research and development projects, in which the  Lower Saxony Energy Research Center (EFZN) in Goslar is also involved. Second, our agriculture minister Gert Lindemann plans to lead an official delegation to the Russian Federation in May 2012, during which he will visit our partner regions. We do have a strong interest in developing our partnerships with Perm and Tyumen further. 

Volkswagen, Lower Saxony’s flagship company in which the State is itself a major and historic shareholder, is rapidly expanding its production capacities in Russia. Do you support this strategy, and what benefits do you expect VW to gain from it?

I support the development of new Volkswagen production capacities in Russia. The Russian car market is one of the automotive industry’s growth engines and an important pillar of Volkswagen’s Strategy 2018.  Experts predict that Russia will become Europe’s largest car market as early as 2018. The agreement recently signed by Volkswagen and GAZ Group for the production of approximately 110,000 VW and Skoda cars annually, is another stepping stone towards the consolidation of Volkswagen’s position in this key market.

Russian authorities are implementing a series of reforms to modernize the country’s economic structure, and say that support from international partners, both foreign investors and governments, is key to achieving this objective. Do you see a role for the State of Lower Saxony there? What would it be? 

From the outset it has been Lower Saxony’s strategy to support Russia’s modernization process with investments and economic integration. I have already mentioned the activities of Volkswagen. But as many as 300 SMEs from Lower Saxony as also present in Russia, and they are a crucial bridge. Thousands of Russian executives discovered Germany in the city of Celle, where they were trained at the German Management Academy.  On the ground, the representation of Lower Saxony in Moscow helps businesses, particularly SMEs, develop relations with Russian businesses.  The cooperation between numerous universities from Lower Saxony and Russian research institutes – there are too many for me to mention any specific examples here – has also significantly contributed to Russia’s modernization. The State of Lower Saxony has supported such activities for 20 years, and I can assure you that we will continue to build on our cooperation with Russia.
 

David McAllister has been Minister-President (head of government) of the German state of Lower Saxony since July 2010. Born in 1971 in Berlin as son of a British father and a German mother, McAllister is the first politician with double nationality to hold such a mandate in Germany. A lawyer by training, he joined the Christian Democratic Union in 1988 and is today the party’s chairman in Lower Saxony.