German investors ready to build Olympic facilities in Sochi – minister

German investors ready to build Olympic facilities in Sochi – minister

03.05.2008, 13.48

KRASNODAR, May 3 (Itar-Tass) -- German investors expressed readiness to take part in bidding contests for the construction of Olympic facilities and infrastructures in Sochi, as well as to establish their industrial facilities in Russia’s southern Krasnodar territory, German Minister for Economics and Technology Michael Glos said this week.

The federal minister and a group of German business community representatives were on a visit in the Krasnodar Territory within the framework of their familiarization tour to Russia on April 29-30.

The German guests took part in a news conference titled “The Krasnodar Territory and Germany: Potential of and Prospects for the Development of Trade and Economic Cooperation.”

While presenting a German project aimed at developing cooperation and enhancing trade and economic contacts with the Krasnodar territory, Glos said that his country had already opened a bureau in Sochi, which started publishing a special news bulletin on the preparations of that Russian city for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

The federal minister indicated that the news bulletin is meant for German businessmen and will inform them on the above-mentioned preparations.

He also mentioned the setting up of a bilateral consultative chamber for German businesses that would like to implement joint projects with their Krasnodar counterparts.

Aside from the conference and roundtables, the business delegation accompanying the minister visited the Russian-German joint ventures operating in Krasnodar.

While staying in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, the guests visited the construction sites of the Olympic facilities in Krasnaya Polyana and the ski resort centre Laura.

Germany is invariably on the list of the three biggest foreign trade partners of the Krasnodar territory over the past five years.

“This time, almost 200 agreements on a total amount of three billion euros were signed between the Krasnodar Territory and Germany at various forums and presentations,” Governor Alexander Tkachev said.

In 2007 alone, the parties signed 28 agreements worth about 800 million euros, he said, adding that the documents were signed in Berlin.

Last year, trade turnover between the territory and Germany amounted to 153.8 million U.S. dollars. At the same time, the share of imports amounted to 146.8 million U.S. dollars, and the share of exports – to four million U.S. dollars.

This February, German businessmen expressed the readiness to convene the conference that took place this week. Also in February, they visited Sochi and Krasnodar.

Prior to the February meeting, many German businessmen and politicians expressed support for Sochi as a candidate for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

The two-day trip of the German minister was his first visit to Russia this year.

In December 2007, Glos took part in the opening of the Russian-German Foreign Trade Chamber in Moscow.