On Friday, February 23, nearly 60 economic players in the Principality came to meet His Excellency Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, Ambassador of Germany in France and Monaco, for an Ambassador’s Lunch dedicated to the economic opportunities of this flagship country of the European Union, which is also the fourth largest economy in the world.
Ambassador Meyer-Landrut highlighted the economic stability of his country and emphasised in particular the constant growth of German GDP, 2.2 percent in 2017 and a forecast of 2.4 percent in 2018, high domestic demand and a strong labour market, with high employment and dynamic earnings growth.
To support its competitiveness, however, Germany must face new challenges related to the ageing of its infrastructure and the risk of a lack of qualified manpower and rising labour costs, he said. The new coalition agreement includes major investments in R&D and innovation, education and digital transformation. In terms of finance and taxation, the goal is a balanced budget with no new debt and no tax changes.
As far as business opportunities for Monegasque entrepreneurs are concerned, they would be welcome particularly in the areas of health, urbanisation and digitisation, sectors that have a high demand for expertise and which are also of interest to Monaco.
Germany is the main partner of the Principality for exports, which amount to 15.4 percent in total. In terms of imports, Germany is in third or fourth position, depending on the year. Also important is the fact that the German community resident in the Principality totals 907 people. Two hundred and twenty-three Germans are employed in the private sector.
According to MEB President Michel Dotta, “These exchanges can still be developed, and with this in mind, the Monaco Economic Board will organise an economic mission to Frankfurt from June 12 to 14, in collaboration with the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce, with the support of the Monaco Embassy in Germany and that of the German Embassy in Monaco.”
The Monaco Economic Board has already planned a trip to Düsseldorf in 2019 and Munich or Berlin in 2020.