February 13, 2007

• Over 150 Russian exhibitors invited to Hannover , Germany , making Russia fourth biggest exhibitor nation
• Numerous events on Russia 's growing information technology and telecommunications (ICT) market
• Putin and Merkel expected at German-Russian ICT summit

Russia is the partner country at CeBIT 2007 (15 to 21 March), the world's largest trade fair for digital solutions in IT and telecommunications (ICT). More than 150 Russian exhibitors will be presenting their innovations on an exhibition area of 5,500m 2 , including leading companies such as Kaspersky Lab., Inkotex, and Russoft. The German Federal Ministry of Economics and the Russian Ministry of Communications will be supporting the partnership. A “Russian tour” will present the partner country's key IT strengths. The Russian presentation is divided into four display categories: Communications, Business Processes, Banking & Finance and Digital Equipment & Systems. Four cutting-edge group pavilions are also planned on software, telecommunications, outsourcing, and research and development. In addition, the supporting program for CeBIT will feature an array of events offering fresh impetus for German-Russian collaboration in the ICT sector. The highlight of the presentation will be the “German-Russian ICT Summit” on the first day of the trade fair. This event is intended to provide a further boost to collaboration between both countries in the high-tech sector.

German-Russian collaboration in the ICT sector is already highly successful. In 2005, Germany exported hardware worth EUR 1.8 billion to Russia , more than three times as much as five years earlier. Over 10,000 jobs in Germany are dependent on this. “This offers further potential for expansion and also means Russian companies have great potential in Germany ,” says Ulrich Dietz, member of the Presiding Committee of the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM). The Russian ICT market is also developing dynamically, with Christian Spahr, Press Spokesman Telecommunications & Law at BITKOM, predicting the volume of the Russian ICT market for 2010 at USD 16.5 billion. In 2004, this sector was worth less than half as much as USD 7.5 billion, according to the Russian industry association APKIT. It is therefore seeing enormous growth. Prospects are good for Russian companies in software solutions and services in particular. “We are looking to help ensure our providers are better informed about the needs of the German market,” says Valentin Makarov, President of the Russian software association RUSSOFT.

he upswing in the Russian ICT sector can also be clearly seen in the growth in participation at CeBIT . What began in 1991 with nine exhibitors from Russia has developed into a solid Russian presence. In 2006, 88 Russian companies showcased their products and innovations on a display space of around 2,000 m 2 . 2007 will see over 150 Russian exhibitors on more than 5,500 m 2 . The Russian presence has thus not just grown consistently over 15 years; it has increased roughly tenfold, making Russia today the fourth largest exhibitor nation at CeBIT.