Russia and Germany, long-time economic partners, have formed a bilateral Chamber of Commerce in Moscow. It will promote the interests of the two countries' business communities, especially for small and mid-sized businesses.
Germany is Russia's largest European trading partner. Russian-German trade in the last six years has increased three-fold, reaching a total of $50 billion in 2007. German giants like Siemens, Knauf and Volkswagen have long been active on Russian market, but it is the mid-sized and smaller companies from both countries who need help from the Chamber. 4,500 such German companies are already operating in Russia. However business relations between the two countries remain unbalanced. Germany exports machinery and consumer goods. Its banks, IT and insurance companies operate in Russia. Energy remains Russia's main export.