Russian exhibitors to headline major German tech fair

Exhibitors from throughout the Russian Federation will take center stage at a massive technology trade show to be held in Germany from April 8 to 13, aiming to highlight the virtues of the world's sixth-largest economy as a business location.

Underscoring the fair's importance to Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend, accompanied by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Russia is the partner country of the exhibition organizer Hannover Messe, which holds the technology fair annually. Last year, China was Hannover Messe's partner and Premier Wen Jiabao was invited to visit Germany.

Russian gross domestic product grew 3.4 percent in 2012, down from 4.2 percent the previous year and its slowest rate of expansion since a contraction in 2009. The Russian government has targeted a GDP of least 5 percent over the next five years and is seeking investment as a source of growth.

With energy a key driver of the Russian economy, exhibitors from that sector will figure prominently at the exhibition, notably in the areas of energy generation and distribution as well as power-supply network modernization.

Over the next six years, the Russian energy sector requires nearly 3 trillion rubles ($98 billion) in investment, wrote Mark Rubenstein, director of the analysis department at IFC Metropol, in a research note.

Overall, more than 100 Russian companies will participate in the exhibition, including major players like Gazprom, Rosnano, Russian Railway, Rosneft, Transnest, UralVagonZavod, RAO UES of Russia, Vnesheconombank, TMK Group and Metalloinvest.

"Bilateral trade between Germany and Russia reached a new level in 2012," said Professor Rainer Lindner, executive director of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations. "Russia's recent admission to the WTO will further boost this trade and open up new business opportunities, especially for SMEs with pronounced capabilities in technology."