Qatar Chamber (QC) Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani, with other delegates attending the Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry meetings and 24th Arab-German Business Forum, in Berlin, Germany, recently.
Doha: Total trade volume between Arab countries and Germany which stood at €36.1bn last year, and showed a decline of 18.5 percent compared to the previous year, needs to be revitalised to return to its pre-COVID levels, Qatar Chamber (QC) Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani has said.
Sheikh Khalifa was leading the Chamber’s delegation currently participating in the Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry meetings and the 24th Arab-German Business Forum being held in Berlin from October 4-6. The delegation also included QC Board Member Dr Khalid bin Klefeekh Al Hajri and QC General Manager Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi.
The forum’s sessions, discussions and workshops focused on shedding light on the main sectors that create opportunities and growth between the Arab and German sides.
In a statement, Sheikh Khalifa praised the strong economic relations between Arab countries and Germany, which witnessed a remarkable growth in recent years.
However, he noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had negatively affected the commercial relations between both sides due to the economic closures and disruption of supply chains. He added that trade exchange between both sides reached only €36.1bn last year, a decline of 18.5 percent compared to the previous year, stressing the need to revitalise trade exchanges to return to their pre-COVID levels.
Elaborating on Qatar-Germany relations, Sheikh Khalifa said both countries are linked with strong relations especially in economic and commercial ties.
He added that bilateral trade between Qatar and Germany increased by 23 percent to QR4.3bn (€1.02bn) during the first half of 2021, compared to QR3.5bn (€830m) during the same period last year. While total trade volume between both countries reached QR6.4bn (€1.5bn) last year.
Sheikh Khalifa also stressed that activating the trade exchange between Arab countries and Germany was one of the important topics that were discussed during the forum.
The forum also reviewed other topics related to the development of cooperation between the two sides in various fields such as logistics and transport, urban infrastructure and smart cities, reconstruction, and sustainable development, as well as digitisation and how the industry can drive diversification in the Arab countries. The forum also highlighted that knowledge transfer was the key to business sustainability and digital transformation success.
Sheikh Khalifa reiterated that the discussions also dealt with the future of investment and finance in Arab-German business relations. He went on to emphasise the QC’s initiatives to enhance relations between the Qatari and German private sectors through increasing mutual visits, encouraging the establishment of partnerships between Qatari and German firms and exploring the investment opportunities available in both countries to help businessmen from both sides benefit from these opportunities and forge joint ventures, whether in Qatar or in Germany.
Sheikh Khalifa said there are 150 German companies currently operating in Qatar, which are active in many fields such as trade, construction, services, and medical equipment among others.
He added that the existence of German companies in Qatar was an important addition to the economy.
During the joint meeting of the Executive Bureau and Board of Directors of the Arab-German Chamber, both parties also reviewed the proposed activities for 2022 to strengthen trade and economic cooperation relations between Germany and the Arab countries.
The meeting was followed by the meeting of the General Assembly of the Arab-German Chamber, during which members of Arab and German sides were elected to the Board of Directors.
During the meeting, Qatar Chamber was re-elected as a Member of the Board of Directors.
The Chamber’s delegation also participated in the 24th Arab-German Business Forum which was organised by Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with Union of Arab Chambers, the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Germany.
