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) Photo Gallery>>>

    MOSCOW, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hosted German Chancellor Angela Merkel at his vacation residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday.

    The informal summit, the leaders' third meeting this year and the second following their July talks in Munich, was primarily focused on investment projects in the hope that closer economic ties would help the two countries tide over the global economic crisis.

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    In his opening remarks, Medvedev hailed Germany's efforts to deal with the economic downturn and said Russia was also working to improve its economic performance.

    Germany's state statistics body said Thursday that the country's economy grew 0.3 percent in the second quarter from the previous one, beating the forecast of a 0.2 percent shrinkage.

    "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 the RIA Novosti news agency.

    Germany is Russia's biggest European trading partner. Trade between the two countries has enjoyed an annual growth of around 20 percent in recent years and hit a record 67.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2008.

    At a joint press conference, Merkel reiterated her support for a bid from Canadian automaker Magna, backed by Russia's Sberbank, to buy a stake in Opel, the European unit of General Motors (GM).

    Merkel said talks on Opel's future had entered a decisive phase but it remained unknown when the negotiations would be concluded.

    On Thursday, a senior Magna executive said the Opel bid details had been finalized. But John Smith, GM's chief negotiator for the sale, said Friday that a deal had yet to be reached because his company was still comparing the Canadian bidder with its main rival, Belgium-based investor RHJ International.

    In another deal, Igor Yusufov, a board member of Russia's state gas monopoly Gazprom, said he was ready to invest 40.5 million euros (57.1 million dollars) in ailing German firm Wadan shipyard.

    It is estimated that the investment would save 1,600 to 2,500 jobs at the dockyard, which is a major employer in Merkel's constituency. Her party faces a parliamentary election on Sept. 27.

    Among other investment projects discussed at the meeting, Russia's AFK Sistema plans to buy a share in Infineon electronics company, which controls the world's leading chipmaker Qimonda.

    Russia and Germany would benefit from strategic investments in each other's economies despite the international financial crisis, said Medvedev. "During the crisis... it is possible to make favorable investments, to buy assets at cheap prices."

    Investments in Infineon or the acquisition of Opel may "help improve the structure of our economy and protect us better from future crises," he was quoted as saying by the Itar-Tass news agency.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (R) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel walk during their meeting at the President's official vacation residence of Bocharov Ruchei in the Black Sea resort of Sochi August 14, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>