With more than 200 participants from Russia, Germany and other countries, the 8th German-Russian Logistics Forum on April 13, 2021, held as a hybrid event, was a clear success. The forum was organized by the Förderverein Logistics Alliance Germany e.V. and held to coincide with the TransRussia trade fair. Thanks to the support of partners on site in Russia, the hybrid forum combined digital participation with a live event in Moscow.

The annual logistics forum has established itself as a platform for exchange between Russia and Germany. Under the motto #logisticsconnects, this year’s event focused on how logistics chains and networks can be maintained in the difficult conditions the world is currently facing.

During the forum, the speakers pointed out numerous examples of the emergence and development of new multimodal logistics chains between Germany and Russia. Representatives of the ports of Hamburg, Lübeck, Rostock and Sassnitz emphasized the importance of transport to and from Russia for Germany’s North Sea and Baltic Sea ports. Speakers from Russia highlighted the potential of the international north-south corridor, which also means a variety of developments for the Caspian ports. Linked to this is the development of logistics zones and modern terminals for container handling and other goods. All of the speakers were in agreement that digitalization is increasingly important for all stakeholders.

Steffen Bilger, MdB, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure and Government Coordinator for Freight Transport and Logistics, supported the event together with Christian Pegel, Minister of Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. All participants hoped that the next German-Russian Logistics Forum can once again be held in Moscow, though the option of online participation is also seen as a major advantage.

Short summary of the event by the project partner BVL Chapter Russia and Greetings by Mr. Steffen Bilger MdB, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure and Coordinator of the Federal Government for Freight Transport and Logistics as well as by Mr. Christian Pegel Minister for Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization of the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: