The Qatari Businessmen Association, the German Embassy in Qatar and the German Office for German Trade and Industry in Qatar officials at the round table discussion.
Doha: The Qatari Businessmen Association, in cooperation with the German Embassy in Qatar and the German Office for German Trade and Industry in Qatar, organised a round table to discuss investment opportunities and joint cooperation, in addition to ways to overcome obstacles facing investors. This comes as part of the objectives of the Qatari German Joint Task force that was established on September 7, 2018 during Qatar Germany Business and Investment Forum, which was held in Berlin. The meeting was held in the presence of H E Claudius Fischbach, German Ambassador to Doha.
From QBA, the meeting was attended by Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, QBA Chairman, and QBA Board members Sheikh Nawaf bin Nasser Al Thani, Sherida Al Kaabi and Saud Al Mana, in addition to QBA members Omar Al Fardan and Khaled Al Mannai, Salah Al Jaidah and Nabil Abu Issa, as well as Sarah Abdullah, Deputy General Manager. From the German side, representatives of several German companies attended such as DB Schenker, Siemens Energy, Siemens, DHL, Deutsch Bahn, Avianet, German Excavation Technology W.L.L, SAP, Man Energy, TÜV Rheinland Gulf, Roland Berger and AHK.
At the beginning of the meeting, Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani welcomed the German delegation, and expressed his happiness for having this meeting at this particular time, hoping that it would serve as a platform for exchanging ideas on how to enhance cooperation between the two countries and create more awareness for German companies about Qatar as a gateway for investments, not only in the local market but also in other regional and international markets, indicating the Association’s readiness to support the efforts of German companies in Qatar to expand their investments and overcome obstacles, especially with Qatar’s openness, driven by many legislations and incentives to attract more foreign investments.
He also pointed out the need to take advantage of the presence of pioneers in German industries as members of the joint business council, to support the expansion of joint investments and help find suitable partners or contacts to promote Qatari investments in the German market.
Trusted relations The German Ambassador to Doha, valued the reliable and prosperous relationship between Doha and Berlin, where there is a partnership in the field of energy as well as German support for expanding the renewable energy network in Qatar. The German ambassador said, “In the past years, Qatari and German companies worked together on many projects and I managed to get it done in time for the World Cup.” His Excellency also confirmed his appreciation to the central role played by Qatar in providing the world with clean energy and the agreements with Germany to supply gas to Berlin in the coming years after expanding new fields and announcing an increase in production. He continued, “Before my arrival in Doha more than two years ago, my counterparts in Berlin told me how important Qatar is, as it is a jewel in the entire Middle East and North Africa region. In fact, they have proven themselves right.” H E Dr. Claudius Fischbach also praised the great success achieved by the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and its wonderful organization.
During the discussion, the ambassador talked about the exchange of high-level visits that took place this year between the two countries, he said: “perhaps the visits have never reached such a high level, and this close rapprochement in the history of the two countries, and this is something that highlights the strength and depth of our joint relations, and we will work to deepen it during the year 2023.”
The Ambassador also stressed that the economic dynamism that characterizes the joint trade exchange between Qatar and Germany has continued without interruption, indicating that there are many other opportunities to develop this dynamism, and that this is specifically related to the newly concluded partnership in the field of energy.
Oliver Oehms, AHK Gulf CEO, thanked everyone for this meeting and praised the strength of the German-Qatari relations, expressing his pleasure in exchanging ideas and raising problems during the round table, which indicates the development of bilateral relations and their direction to be more dynamic. He also added to his conversation the importance of benefiting from the meeting to overcome any challenges that may face investors from both sides.
Omar Al-Fardan also emphasized the importance of establishing real partnerships with the German side and German companies, according to which the German technical expertise and experience are transferred to the Qatari side, and not limiting cooperation to traditional methods such as agencies or merchandise trade.
As for Salah Al Jaidah, he talked about the successful experience of Deutsche Bank in Qatar. He also stressed that Qatar is a safe market for foreign investors, and that its infrastructure and legislation make Qatar an example to follow in developing economic relations between it and its partners.
The CEO of Siemens Energy Company, said that Siemens has been dealing with the State of Qatar for more than 50 years, and the two sides have worked together on many major projects such as new infrastructure projects in the country, and other various projects.
