Russia: Medvedev Begins Germany Visit
By Ria Novosti
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is starting a two-day visit to Germany on Monday.
Medvedev leads a delegation of over 20 ministers, top officials and chief executives of major Russian companies. He is heading to Hanover to hold intergovernmental consultations and assess bilateral relations on the whole.
The Russian head of state is also expected to meet with businessmen and attend the Russian-German public forum Petersburg Dialogue.
The German delegation is led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will meet with Medvedev on Monday on the eve of the main agenda.
Russia and Germany have drafted a package of 12 documents to be signed during the consultations.
The sides will in particular discuss establishing a fund to support Russian small businesses. Energy issues are also on the agenda: Germany may need more Russian natural gas after it implements its plan to give up its nuclear power industry by 2022 following the Fukushima accident in Japan.
Bilateral trade in 2010 grew over 30% to $51.8 billion, and the Kremlin said the pre-crisis level of $60-70 billion may be reached soon.
