Prime Minister Janez Janša will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday for talks dominated by the euro debt crisis and efforts to boost cooperation with Slovenia's top trade partner.
Janša is also due to meet Norbert Lammert, president of the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, during what is his official trip abroad since he assumed office in January this year. A particular focus in talks will be on bilateral economic ties with the sides expected to review the potential for new German investments in Slovenia and for boosting cooperation in infrastructure. Janša already discussed potential investments with German business representatives, including CEO of Deutsche Bahn Rüdiger Grube, as he opened the visit to Berlin last night. Germany accounts for a fifth of Slovenia's foreign trade and is a leading investor. Bilateral trade amounted to about EUR 3.6bn each side in 2010, with exports and imports each topping EUR 2bn in the first half of 2011. Apart from trade and investment, the agenda is also expected to include topical EU issues such as crisis busting measures, ratification of the treaty creating the European Stability Mechanism and the fiscal compact, as well as reforms in both countries.
Source: The SloveniaTimes
