Relations between Germany and Latvia have evolved from Germany being "an advocate of the Baltic states" into a loyal partnership within the European Union and NATO. The relations are characterised by an active exchange of visits, dynamic economic relations, regular parliamentary contacts, direct co-operation between Latvia and the Federal States of Germany, and wide-ranging contacts between different institutions. The development of bilateral relations continues to progress with the common aim of a united and politically stable Europe and a safe, economically developed Baltic Sea Region.

History of diplomatic relations

Diplomatic relations between Latvia and Germany were established on 1 February 1921 when Germany recognised the existence of the State of Latvia de iure. On 28 August 1991, the two countries renewed relations which had been interrupted for half a century. As of 19 August 2008, the current Ambassador of Germany to Latvia is H.E. Detlef Weigel and as of 15 September 2008, the Ambassador of Latvia to Germany is Ilgvars Kļava.

Parliamentary co-operation

Members of the German Bundestag and of the Latvian Saeima maintain intensive parliamentary contacts. A Latvian-German inter-parliamentary co-operation group was first established during the 5^th Saeima and continues its work during the 9^th Saeima. The group includes 25 members. It is chaired by Solvita Āboltiņa (New Era party) and co-chaired by Uldis Grava (New Era party).

In 1991, a Co-operation Group of German-Baltic Parliaments was established. Since 2002, it has been chaired by Dr. Christel Happach-Kasan and co-chaired by Antje Blumenthal, Gerd Hofer, Frank Spieth, and Irmingard Schewe-Gerigk.

Economic co-operation

Latvia and Germany are traditionally involved in active economic co-operation. Germany is among the most significant of Latvia's foreign trade partners. Latvia's accession to the EU has provided plenty of opportunities for economic co-operation; however, the economic potential offered by the common free market has not yet been exhausted.

Trade

(according to data of the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia)

2007  

• Exports

1. Lithuania - EUR 804,302,208 or 14.92 % of total Latvian exports

2. Estonia - EUR 739 000 313 or 13.71 %

3. Russian Federation - EUR 549,458,209 or 10.19 %

4. Germany - 334, 503,457 EUR or 8.64 %

5. Sweden - EUR 416,916,795 or 7.73 %

• Imports

1. Germany - EUR 1,521,440,212 or 14.86 % of total Latvian imports

2. Lithuania - EUR 1,390,612,826 or 13,58 %

3. Russian Federation - EUR 929,812,795 or 9.08 %

4. Estonia - EUR 807,740,837 or 7.89 %

5. Poland - EUR 689,377,950 or 6.73%

In 2007, Latvia had a negative trade balance with Germany to the amount of EUR - 1,053,256,472 (compared with EUR 830,413,987 in 2006).

Principal exports to Germany by type of commodity in 2007

Type of commodity	EUR	Percentage of total export
Total	468,183,740	100%
Timber and timber products	117,029,046	25.00%
Base metals and articles of base metals	85,652,003	18.29%
Animals and animal products	39,648,240	8.47%
Vehicles	39,280,176	8.39%
Machinery and equipment, electrical appliances	28,557,968	6.10%

Principal imports to Germany by type of commodity in 2007

Type of commodity	EUR	Percentage of total import
Total	15,21,440,212	100%
Vehicles	519,713,461	34.16%
Machinery and equipment, electrical appliances	395,973,618	26.03%
Base metals and articles of base metals	108,969,226	7.16%
Products of chemical and allied industries	93,929,969	6.17%

Trade dynamics between Latvia and Germany between 2001 and 2007

Year	Exports	Imports
2001	371,688,321	441,465,448
2002	237,834,060	404,223,549
2003	385,669,343	757,361,148
2004	380,771,884	777, 402,401
2005	396,227,566	897,582,695
2006	447,816,470	1,278,230,457
2007	468,183,740	1,521,440,212

Investment

(according to the Lursoft database)

As at the end of the year 2007, the balance of registered Latvian direct investment in Germany was LVL 1.8 million, whereas the balance of German direct investment in Latvia was LVL 438.7 million.

As at 12 June 2008, total German investment in the equity of Latvian companies was LVL 116.9 million (7^th place). 1057 Latvian-German joint ventures were listed with the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia.

Co-operation in tourism 

Germany is one of the priority tourism markets for Latvia. In 2007, 11% of all Latvian tourists chose Germany for their destination. The number of German visitors to Latvia has also increased in the last four years. Travel opportunities between both countries have improved: in 2004, the low-cost airlines Easyjet and Ryanair started operating direct flights to Riga, and the Latvian airline airBaltic opened new routes from Riga to a number of German cities. In June 2007, flights were also launched from Liepaja to the city of Hamburg in Germany. In May 2008, in turn, the Germanwings low cost airline opened a direct route from Riga to Cologne.

Since 1993, Latvia has been participating in the International Tourism Stock Exchange (ITB - Internationale Tourismus Börse) in Berlin, which is the largest and most significant tourism fair in the world. Here, representatives from Latvia organise workshops, press conferences and presentations in association with the Latvian Embassy in Berlin. In 2003, a Latvian Tourism Information Centre was opened in Berlin.

Co-operation in education

For several years now, Germany has been offering scholarships to students from Latvia for internship in the German Bundestag. Three Latvian students went to Berlin on March 2007 to work as assistants for MPs and to attend lectures at universities in Berlin. The German government also offers scholarships for internship for social workers and nursery school teachers in Germany. The scholarships of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) are popular among Latvian students and university teaching staff. The University of Latvia is hosting a DAAD lecturer on a permanent basis.

In Riga during October 2006, the Association of German Language Teachers in Latvia, with the support of the Goethe-Institut, organised the 5^th Conference of Baltic States German Language Teachers, which featured discussions on possibilities to increase students' interest in the German language and to promote German as a foreign language in Latvia. The German Embassy in Latvia, together with the Goethe-Institut in Riga and the Association of German Language Teachers in Latvia, has commenced an advertising campaign Deutsch fur die Zukunft (more information at the Goethe-Institut webpage). Germany provides financial support for further education of German language teachers by awarding them grants for participation in language courses in Germany.

Latvia's higher education institutions co-operate actively with Germany within the framework of the Socrates/Erasmus and Leonardo da Vinci programmes, as well as on the basis of bilateral agreements. The University of Latvia has an especially active co-operation with Germany, having concluded agreements with 14 German universities, Socrates/Erasmus programme agreements with 54 higher education institutions, as well as two co-operation agreements within the framework of UNICA and two within the framework of the Campus Europae programme.

The Vidzeme University College has established fruitful contacts with Germany: it is engaged in many co-operation projects, dynamic student exchange takes place, and students can receive various scholarship offers. 

The Latvian Academy of Culture, as part of its undergraduate course, offers a sub-programme Intercultural Relations "Latvia - Germany". According to data from the Ministry of Education and Science, in 2007 a total of 153 Latvians were studying in Germany, with 92 Germans studying in Latvia.

Co-operation in culture

Cultural and historical ties have linked Latvia and Germany for centuries. The year 2008 is especially significant for collaboration in culture, as the Baltic states-Germany year of culture Essentia Baltica 2008 has been taking place in Germany. The idea of this event was proposed by Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis in 2006 in Berlin, at a meeting with Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany.  

As part of Essentia Baltica 2008, each of the Baltic states created its own programme, at the same time emphasising the common features in the Baltic state's history, culture, and traditions. From January to November 2008 the German public have the opportunity to experience Latvian classical music, contemporary art, literature, and history in numerous German cities (Berlin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Leipzig). The opening of the event was on 15 March at the Berlin Philharmonic, with the participation of the world-renowned Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica. President Valdis Zatlers also attended the concert.

As part of the year of culture, an exhibition Money in Latvia: History and Today and a photography exhibition Beautiful Latvia was presented. For the first time Latvia took part in the International Festival of Animated Film that took place in Stuttgart and the performance the Sound of Silence was presented in Frankfurt by the New Riga Theatre. The Berlin State Library hosted an exhibition on Latvia-Germany cultural and historical relations, Līgo (the summer solstice) was celebrated, and a series of other significant events were and continue to be held for all the year round.

On 17 November in the Berlin Town Hall, at a spectacular closing event of the Essentia Baltica 2008, the Chamber Orchestra of the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Gints Glinka, will premiere works by Latvian composers Pēteris Vasks, Maija Einfelde, and Uģis Prauliņš. The town hall will also present an exhibition entitled the State Awards of Latvia. The concert will commemorate the 90^th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia.

In May 2008, the O!Vācija month of German culture took place in Latvia, organised by the Ministry of Culture of Latvia in association with the Goethe-Institut, the Embassy of Germany in Riga, and the Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia. As part of O!Vācija the world-famous Berlin Philharmonic and conductor Sir Simon Rattle presented a concert on 2 May.

Co-operation within the framework of German-Latvian city partnerships

From 28 November to 3 December 2005, the Latvian Days in Rostock took place and included the opening of a Latvian Christmas market, visits to the seaport of Rostock, the transport company Rostocker Straßenbahn AG, and the Rostock-Laage airport, as well as a festive concert by the Rostock Academy of Music and Theatre in honour of the occasion.  Day of German-Latvian Economy with the participation of Ainars Slesers, Minister of Transport; a concert by the Maris Briezkalns Jazz Quintet; readings from Latvian literature; a schoolchildren's conference; a Latvian evening at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Herder Society and a Latvian Christmas charity concert at the church of St. Nicholas.

From 29 August to 2 September 2006, Hamburg hosted Riga Days. In addition to cultural events, there was a workshop Riga - a City with a Future. Investments in the Baltic Metropolis,which took place in the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry,  and was addressed by German and Latvian officials. In the Levantehaus, an exhibition entitled My Riga by the photographer Leons Balodis was opened. The Metropolis cinema hosted the Latvian Film Week as part of the project Riga Nights in Hamburg, and a Latvian textile art exhibition was presented in the exhibition hall of the Hamburg Chamber of Crafts.

In order to extend the network of German-Latvian partner cities, representatives of the partner cities held a meeting on 31 May 2006 on the initiative of the Latvian Consulate in Bonn. The next meeting of German-Latvian twin towns was planned to take place in August 2007 in Willich, partner city to Smiltene, combining it with celebrations marking 15^th anniversary of the partnership. The co-operation between Valmiera and Guetersloh has also lasted for 15 years. The anniversary was marked with a grand celebration in May 2007 in Guetersloh and again later, in August 2007, in Valmiera.

From 28 to 31 March 2007, Ventspils hosted German Culture Days, which were organised by the German Embassy in Latvia in association with Ventspils Town Council. In addition to cultural events, 15 years of official partnership between Ventspils and its partner-city Stralsund was also celebrated.

The most significant visits

Visits of Latvian officials to Germany
15-17 August 2008	Working visit by Minister for Culture Helēna Demakova.
22-24 June 2008	Working visit by Minister for Culture Helēna Demakova.
28-30 May 2008	Working visit by Minister for Transport Ainārs Šlesers.
4-6 May 2008	Working visit by Minister for Education and Science Tatjana Koķe.
16-19 April 2008	Working visit by Minister for Finance Atis Slakteris.
9-11 April 2008	Working visit by Minister for Regional Development and Local Governments Edgars Zalāns to the German Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt.
9 April 2008	Working visit by the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
15-17 March 2008	Working visit by President Valdis Zatlers.
5 March 2008	Working visit by the Minister for Special Assignments for Electronic Government Affairs Ina Gudele.
22-24 February 2008	Working visit by Minister for Culture Helēna Demakova.
9-10 February 2008	Participation by Minister for Defence Vinets Veldre in the 44th Munich Conference on Security Policy.
7-10 February 2008	Working visit by Minister for Culture Helēna Demakova.
20-22 January 2008	Official visit by President Valdis Zatlers.
16-20 January 2008	Working visit by Minister for Agriculture Mārtiņš Roze.
8-10 October 2007	Working visit by Minister for Agriculture Mārtiņš Roze to the German Federal State of Brandenburg.
27-28 August 2007	Participation by Indulis Emsis, Speaker of the Saeima, and Foreign Minister Dr. Artis Pabriks at the 16th Baltic Sea States Parliamentary Conference in Berlin.
16 - 20 June 2007	Visit by Indulis Emsis, Speaker of the Saeima.
15-16 June 2007	Participation by President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga of Latvia in the Global Summit of Women in Berlin.
28 May 2007	Working visit to Berlin by Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis.
9 May 2007	Working visit to Saxony-Anhalt by President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga to receive the Kaiser Otto award.
7-8 March 2007	Visit by Minister for Economics Jurijs Strods.
10-11 February 2007	Participation by Foreign Minister Dr. Artis Pabriks in the 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy in Germany.
9-14 February 2007	Working visit to Germany by Minister for Culture Helēna Demakova.
22-23 September 2006	Participation by Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis in the International Bertelsmann Forum in Berlin.
9 June 2006	Meeting between President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga and Dr Roland Koch, Prime Minister of the German Federal State of Hesse.
28 March 2006	Meeting in Berlin between Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis and Dr Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor.
4-5 February 2006	Participation in Dresden by President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga in informal discussions between presidents of the European states.
3 February 2006	Participation by Foreign Minister Dr Artis Pabriks in the 9th Political Consultations of the Foreign Ministers of the Baltic states and Germany "three plus one" in Berlin.
16 December 2005	Working visit to Germany by President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga; participation in the Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought awarding ceremony in Bremen.
6-7 October 2005	Working visit to the German Federal State of Baden-Wurttemberg by Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis.
4 August 2005	Working visit to Germany by Minister for Finance Oskars Spurdziņs.
19-21 June 2005	Participation by Ingrīda Ūdre, Speaker of the Saeima, in the Kieler Woche sailing event.
9-10 June 2005	Participation by President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga in the Munich Economic Summit.
30 May to 3 June 2005	Visit to Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and Berlin by the Latvian-German inter-parliamentary co-operation group of the Latvian Saeima.
11-12 May 2005	Working visit to Germany by Minister for Economics Krišjānis Kariņš.
16-17 March 2005	Working visit to the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia by President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, to open the Latvian Consulate in Bonn and to visit Duesseldorf and Essen.
12-13 February 2005	Participation by Minister for Defence Einārs Repše in the 41st Munich Conference on Security Policy; meeting during the conference with Peter Struck,  the German Federal Minister for Defence.
11-13 February 2005	Participation by Foreign Minister Dr. Artis Pabriks in the 41st Munich Conference on Security Policy.
10-13 February 2005	Working visit to Berlin by Minister for Culture Helēna Demakova to open the 55th Berlin International Film Festival Berlinale.
19-23 January 2005	Working visit to Berlin by Minister for Culture Mārtiņš Roze.
1 December 2004	Participation by Foreign Minister Dr Artis Pabriks in the 8th Political Consultations of the Foreign Ministers of the Baltic states and Germany "three plus one", held in Parnu.
19 -21 November 2004	Working visit by Foreign Minister Dr Artis Pabriks; participation in the 10th European Forum in Berlin organized by the BMW Herbert Quandt Foundation.
13 September 2004	Participation by Prime Minister Indulis Emsis in the 6th Baltic Development Forum in Hamburg.
23-24 August 2004	Working visit to the German Federal State of Thuringia by Prime Minister Indulis Emsis.
7-11 July 2004	Meeting between Prime Minister Indulis Emsis and Gerhard Schröder, the German Chancellor.
25 May 2004	Meeting in Berlin between Foreign Minister Rihards Pīks of Latvia and Joschka Fischer, the German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs.
8-10 January 2004	Working visit to Germany by President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga to attend the International Bertelsmann Forum in Berlin; meeting with German President Johannes Rau.
14-15 November 2003	Working visit to Germany by Prime Minister Einārs Repše; participation in the Berlin Forum organised by the BMW Herbert Quandt Foundation.
11 October 2003	Working visit to Germany by President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair.
3 October 2003	Working visit to Berlin by Prime Minister Einārs Repše to receive the Quadriga Award in the category European of the Year.
25-28 September 2003	Working visit to Germany by Minister for Welfare Dagnija Staķe.
24-26 September 2003	Working visit to Hamburg by Minister for Economics Juris Lujāns.
24- 27 June 2003	Working visit to Germany by Minister for Environment Raimonds Vējonis.
2-3 June 2003	Working visit to Germany by Inese Vaidere, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima.
17-20 March 2003	State visit by President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga.
7-9 February 2003	Participation by Minister for Defence Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis in the 39th  Munich Conference on Security Policy.
23 August 2002	Working visit by President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga.
12 -15 April 2002	Visit to the German Bundestag by the delegation of the Latvian-German inter-parliamentary co-operation group of the Latvian Saeima.
1-3 February 2002	Participation by Foreign Minister Indulis Bērziņš and Minister for Defence Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis in the 38th Munich Conference on Security Policy.

Visits of German officials to Latvia
20 May 2008	The 10th meeting in Riga between the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Baltic states and Germany within the framework of "three plus one" consultations. Participants: Minister for Foreign Affairs of Latvia Māris Riekstiņš, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Estonia Urmas Paet, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Petras Vaitekūnas and German Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
12-13 July 2007	Official visit by Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German Minister for Foreign Affairs.
3 May 2007	Working visit by Michael Glos, German Minister for Economics and Technology.
20-22 April 2007	Visit by the President of the German Bundestag, Dr Norbert Lammert, and German Federal Minister for Education and Research Dr Annette Schavan, within the framework of the Annual Conference of Conrad Adenauer Foundation.
10-11 April 2007	Visit by German Federal President Prof Dr Horst Köhler within the framework of the informal 8th meeting of Presidents of European States.
28-29 November 2006	Visit by German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, German Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and German Minister for Defence Dr Franz Josef Jung, within the framework of the NATO Summit.
11-12 April 2006	Working visit to Latvia by Günter Gloser, the Minister of State for Europe of the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
11-12 May 2005	Official working visit by Dieter Althaus, the Prime Minister of the German Free State of Thuringia.
8 April 2005	Visit by Manfred Stolpe, the German Minister for Transport, Building, and Housing.
23 November 2004	Official working visit by German President Prof Dr Horst Köhler.
8-9 June 2004	Visit by Dr Christel Happach-Kasan, Chair of the Co-operation Group of German-Baltic Parliaments of the German Bundestag.
3-4 June 2004	Visit by Heide Simonis, Prime Minister of the German Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein.
10-11 May 2004	Visit by Hans Martin Bury, Minister of State of the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3 -5 February 2004	Visit by Dr. Susanne Kastner, Vice-president of the German Bundestag.
14-16 December 2003	Informative visit to Latvia by Claudia Nolte, the German Bundestag member of the Foreign Affairs Commission and the plenipotentiary of the Baltic States Affairs section of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group's Foreign Affairs working group.
3-4 September 2003	Visit to Riga by Klaus Wowereit, Governing Burgomaster of Berlin. The objective of the visit was to present Berlin during the Berlin Days.
28 March to 3 April 2002	Visit to Latvia by Dr. Antje Vollmer, Vice-president of the German Bundestag.
11 February 2002	Meeting between the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Baltic states and the German Minister for Foreign Affairs during the 6th Political Consultations "three plus one" with the participation of the Latvian Minister for Foreign Affairs Indulis Bērziņš, the Estonian Minister for Foreign Affairs Kristiina Ojuland, the Lithuanian Minister for Foreign Affairs Antanas Valionis, and the German Minister for Foreign Affairs Joschka Fischer.
6 -7 June 2000	Working visit to Latvia by Gerhard Schröder, the German Federal Chancellor.

Bilateral agreements

Database of bilateral agreements signed between the Republic of Latvia and the Federal Republic of Germany

Link

Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/