OREANDA-NEWS. July 15, 2013. During the meeting with Valdis Dombrovskis, Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia, Joachim Gauck, President of Germany, confirmed that Germany is interested in closer economic cooperation with Latvia by seeking new opportunities for investment and trade.

Valdis Dombrovskis emphasised that targeted support to the production sector and exports has contributed to Latvia’s return on the development path becoming a country with the highest growth rate in Europe. The Government is committed to further work in order to enhance the investment and business environment, and improvements are also indicated by international surveys and business environment ratings.

The Prime Minister and the President of Germany shared the view that bilateral economic cooperation of Latvia and Germany still possesses some untapped potential; therefore businesses of both countries should further examine the respective opportunities. The President of Germany is accompanied by a delegation of German entrepreneurs who will meet representatives of Latvia’s companies during the Latvian-German Business Forum in order to discuss new trade opportunities and develop closer cooperation.

The Head of the Latvian Government acknowledged Germany’s initiative to undertake a leading role in fostering youth employment throughout Europe and expressed Latvia’s commitment to support the activities associated with this initiative. The Prime Minister stressed that the dual model of vocational education employed by Germany is an efficient instrument for developing cooperation of the education and production sectors, and that Latvia intends to build on this positive experience by reforming its vocational education.

Valdis Dombrovskis expressed gratitude to Germany for its support to Latvia’s intention to join the euro zone, as well as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Prime Minister noted that both moves would strengthen Latvia’s competitiveness in international trade, contribute to attracting new investors in the production sector and create new jobs.