KUWAIT CITY, Oct 2, (KUNA):With an investment volume of over EUR 30 billion, Kuwait is ranked first among importers of German goods within the European Union, and fifth on the global scale, Ambassador Karlfried Bergner said Monday.“Trade relations with Kuwait are very good. We are looking forward to beefing them up in renewable energy and environmental cooperation,” Bergner told KUNA on the occasion of his country’s national day; coinciding Oct 3.Kuwait Investment Authority alone has a EUR-18-billion investment share in Germany.He also extolled the “very distinguished” bilateral relations with Kuwait, and keenness of both political leaderships to enhance them even further on all levels especially following the official visit to Germany by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in April 2010.He also pointed to the “robust” relationship between His Highness the Amir and Chancellor Angela Merkel.Bergner extended congratulations over Kuwait’s election as a non-permanent member on the UN Security Council for a two-year term.Last June, Kuwait gained votes of 188 members out of 192 at the UN, with its membership officially starting in January 2018.The election came on the heel of the UN bestowing His Highness the Amir with a ‘Leader of Humanitarian Action’ status and Kuwait as and international humanitarian center, “a matter that is plausible to Germany, which hosts a large number of refugees,” Ambassador Bergner noted, underlining the “strong” cooperation in this area between his country and Kuwait.On Kuwait’s request to exempt its nationals from the Schengen visa requirement, Bergner said that such decision needs to go through a number of stages, noting that the exemption would not be a German decision, rather it is one of the EU.As for the recent parliamentary elections, Bergner noted there would not be any major changes in his country’s domestic or foreign policies, with Merkel’s major concern being the formation of a coalition government at the moment.On Sept 24, Merkel’s Christian Democrat Union won general elections.