European Trade Center for Latin America Launched in Hamburg

HAMBURG, Germany, August 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

On 13 August, the European Trade Center for Latin America EZLA opened in Hamburg. With the EZLA Business Center, the German trade capital offers advantages for Latin- American businesses and provides ideal conditions for accessing the European market. As a major hub for Ibero-American trading in Europe, Hamburg also offers specialised business development solutions.

Hamburg's EZLA Business Center particularly supports small and medium-sized businesses venturing into Europe. Support is provided at all levels of the economic chain, from market information and representation, logistics and distribution to office and show rooms. Being a non-profit organisation, EZLA is a unique, innovative venture in the EU. EZLA is a collaboration between Latin-American businesses NPU Trade and LaConSA, and HWF Hamburg Business Development Corporation. Among the initiators was Frank K. Westermann, Mexico's honorary consul in Hamburg.

Featuring Europe's second-largest sea port, Hamburg is the major logistics hub for Northern and Eastern Europe. More than 30,000 trade enterprises with approximately 125,000 employees make Hamburg Germany's leading foreign trade centre. Trade with Latin America has been maintained and fostered for centuries: Brazil e.g. ranks among the Hamburg port's top ten trading partners in ocean container handling.

Relations between Hamburg and Latin America are characterised by friendly exchange and strong institutional ties. Since November 2011, Hamburg is also the location of the EU-LAC Foundation, which aims at advancing relations between the EU and Latin America/the Caribbean. At the EU-LAC summit in Santiago de Chile in January 2013, the foundation shall be transferred to an international organisation, and cross-sectoral relations between the EU and the region will be co-ordinated from Hamburg. But already now, Hamburg is a prime location for Latin-American businesses.

Further information:

http://es.hamburg-economy.de/
http://info-es.ezla.de

Media contact:
Hamburg Marketing
Guido Neumann
Phone: +49-40-411-110-617
E-mail: guido.neumann@marketing.hamburg.de