OREANDA-NEWS. September 25, 2012. Ruprecht Polenz, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Bundestag during the discussion with Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis emphasized that Germany highly values Latvia's determination to join the euro area.

"Latvia has proved that it can overcome the crisis, and now is taking the next step – shows that it is ready to join the euro area. Although the introduction of the euro in Latvia is a future objective, already today it is an important signal for the rest of the euro area countries. It will have a positive impact on the economic development in Latvia and entry of new investors in Latvia,” said the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. The Prime Minister informed that already this month Latvia has started fulfilling the Maastricht criteria.
 
The Prime Minister also highlighted the priorities of the Baltic countries in the new EU multi-annual financial framework – to ensure sufficient cohesion funding and equal distribution of direct payments. R.Polenz said that the agreement on the next financial perspective will be reached through discussions.

The parties agreed that the bilateral relations of both countries are good. At the same time, the Prime Minister stressed that Germany is one of the most important partners in many fields, and that Latvia assigns great importance to strengthening the cooperation in the fields of economy, culture and education.

Indicators of trade between Latvia and Germany:

According to the total turnover of trade in goods, Germany ranks the 3rd among the foreign trade partners of Latvia, and the total trade turnover amounts to EUR 838.27 million. The total turnover of trade in goods between Latvia and Germany has increased by 6 % compared to the first-half year of 2011.

The main export goods to Germany in Q2 2012 were timber and its products (25.14%), metals and metal products (16.37%), means of transport (7.46%), machinery and mechanisms, electric appliances (7.17%), chemical products (6.37%), while the import from Germany is dominated by machinery and mechanisms, electric appliances (27.45%), means of transport (23.36%), plastic and plastic goods, rubber and rubber products (8.49%), metals and metal products (8.37%), chemical products (7.60%).

According to the data of the Bank of Latvia, currently Germany is the fifth major investor according the direct foreign investment (EUR 474 million). The investments are made mainly in supply of electricity, gas and water (35%), operations with real estate (22%) and manufacturing industry (17%).