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.