The Postdam Meetings, initiated by the former President of Germany Roman Herzog in 1999, are conducted annually in the form of a two-day conference. They bring together high-ranking representatives of politics, the economy and culture, and other public figures from Germany and Russia to facilitate more profound mutual understanding and new forms of cooperation during the discussion of topical issues today.

This year the Potsdam Meetings were held online for the first time with the tagline: "Germany-Russia-EU: The pandemic and its impact on foreign policy and security policy".

Once again the forum was organised under the patronage of Germany’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Mass and Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov. In their greetings both men emphasized the importance of cooperation during the crisis. Germany’s Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier stressed that cooperation with Russia was always a central focus of his activity as a minister, and that constructive cooperation is particularly significant today.

Falk Tischendorf, Managing Partner of BEITEN BURKHARDT’s Moscow office, noted that the international and national restrictions attributable to COVID-19 had demonstrated palpably to many manufacturers their current dependence on closely interrelated supply chains all over the world. "Now we must reconcile ourselves to the fact that such situations may recur, and that the economy will have to adapt to them. Companies are already considering today the possible restructuring of their supply chains and production capacities." This is an area with significant potential for Russia as well.

According to Sergey Nechayev, Russia’s Ambassador to Germany, dialogue and cooperation are vital, particularly in these challenging times. The Potsdam Meetings have become an important example in this respect.

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