THE historical links with The Baltic through the North-East's ports may give the region something of a head start in dealing with new EU members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

For the past three years, Girts Greiskalns has been employed by the trade and investment section of the British Embassy in Latvia to promote economic ties between the two nations.

Last month, Girts and his counterparts, Anu Vask from the British Embassy in Estonia, and Ringaila Saviciene, from Lithuania, visited the North-East to promote trade with the region.

The Latvian economy has developed at speed since winning independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. Although not without its problems, GDP growth hovers at about six per cent a year, the country has a sound banking sector, a stable currency which will soon be pegged to the euro and a favourable tax system, with corporation tax at 15 per cent. But, a great deal of the Latvian machinery and infrastructure dates back to Soviet times.

Brussels has committed one billion euros in modernisation aid over the next two years and several North-East engineering firms have already expressed an interest in getting involved.

But they will have to move quickly - in the past year alone, said Mr Greiskalns, trade with the UK has grown by 42 per cent and now stands at more than £100m a year.

"We are surprised and very proud of that - it is very much linked to Latvia joining the EU," he said. "Many UK companies are curious to find out more about new member states and what business opportunities there may be."

At present, the UK's main exports to Latvia are machinery, textiles and electronics and communications equipment. All are expected to remain strong in the aftermath of accession, but the growth areas are expected to be in consumer goods, construction of everything from bridges to housing and in the development of public-private sector partnerships.

Latvia's main exports are not expected to change - timber, foodstuffs, other wood products, oil products and textiles. However, the Latvians have already scored notable successes in what would be expected to be some of the most English of areas - supplying clothes for Marks & Spencer and the cream served with the strawberries on British Airways flights.

For Latvia, a nation reborn only 12 years ago after decades of occupation first by Nazi Germany and then by Soviet Russia, membership of the EU and also Nato is driven as much by politics as economics, but its businesses are keen to make the most of the moment.