Petersburg Dialogue forum to open its 9th meeting Tue

MUNICH, July 14 (Itar-Tass) - The ninth meeting of the Russian-German
public forum "Petersburg Dialogue" is opening in the capital of Bavaria
Munich on Tuesday. Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov who
replaced Mikhail Gorbachev on the post of the chairman of the Russian
Coordination Committee of Petersburg Dialogue, is taking part in the forum
for the first time. Well-known politician Lothar de Maiziere heads the
German Coordination Committee.
The main theme of the forum this year is "Ways out of the crisis in
the eyes of the Russian and German civil societies." Director of the State
Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg) Mikhail Piotrovsky and Chairman of the
"New Financial Architecture" Expert Group of the German government Otmar
Issing will speak on the main issue on Tuesday.
The meeting that will be held on July 14-16 under the chairmanship of
Viktor Zubkov and Lothar de Maiziere, will gather 100 German and 100
Russian prominent figures and experts from various spheres of public life
of the two countries.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who will be in Germany on July 16
on a working visit, and German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel will take
part in the final discussion. The two countries' leaders will meet within
the framework of a regular round of Russian-German interstate top-level
consultations held in Munich.
The Peter Boenisch Award handing ceremony to a young Russian and
German journalist will be held within the Petersburg Dialogue for
materials devotes to various aspects of Russian-German relations.
The Petersburg Dialogue's work this year will be held in eight
sections. Its participants will discuss the "New Security Architecture,"
an initiative of Dmitry Medvedev on a new agreement on the European
security structure. The aftermath of the economic crisis in the sphere of
international relations will be an important issue for discussion.
Prominent politicians, scientists, cultural workers, mass media people
from Germany and Russia attend the forum. Its purpose is to help bring the
German and Russian public together, overcome prejudices in mutual
perception and further promote mutual understanding between the two
countries.
The Petersburg Dialogue was established in 2001 on the initiative of
Vladimir Putin and then German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as an open
forum for discussion, with the aim of promoting understanding between
civil society in the two countries. The serving German Chancellor and
Russian President act as co-patrons of the Petersburg Dialogue, which is
normally held once a year, alternating between venues in Germany and
Russia. It is coordinated by an independent steering committee comprised
of an equal number of German and Russian members. The forum is aimed at
deepening mutual understanding between Germany and Russia and further
development of their bilateral cooperation.
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