Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday to boost bilateral economic ties amid the global economic crisis.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (R) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel walk to attend a joint meeting in the President’s official vacation residence of Bocharov Ruchei in the Black Sea resort of Sochi August 14, 2009. Germany and Russia should work closer together to beat the downturn, Russia’s president told his German counterpart on Friday at the start of talks which will focus on the economy but also touch on human rights.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Statistics showed that the German economy grew 0.3 percent in the second quarter of 2009 from the previous quarter.

“We should think about how we could help both our economies and our people overcome the consequences of the severe global crisis and emerge strong and prepared from it by strengthening bilateral strategic and economic ties,” Medvedev was quoted as saying by theRIA Novosti news agency.

At a joint news conference after the summit, Merkel said Germany favored a bid by Canadian automaker Magna, backed by Russia’s Sberbank, to buy a stake in Opel, the European unit of General Motors.

The heads of state discussed Russian investment in ailing German firm Wadan shipyards. “Cooperation is planned there on a scale that will be necessary, and this will be a question of private investments,” Merkel was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Merkel also said Germany was interested in the implementation of the Nord Stream project, a pipeline to pump Siberian gas under the Baltic Sea directly to Western Europe, bypassing traditional transit nations.

Germany is Russia’s biggest European trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting a record of 67.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2008 before slumping after the onset of the economic crisis.

The informal summit is the leaders’ third meeting this year and the second following their July 16 meeting in Munich.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet