More than 120 of very high-ranking company representatives from Germany accompanied German Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel on his official visit to Riyadh to attend the 19th Saudi German Joint Economic Commission and the Saudi German Business Forum. The Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) in cooperation with the German-Saudi Arabian Liaison Office for Economic Affairs (AHK Saudi Arabia) and the North Africa and Middle East Initiative of German Business (NMI) organized the Saudi German Business Forum parallel to the Joint Economic Commission on 8th March 2015 in the King Faisal Hall of the Intercontinental Hotel Riyadh. More than 400 German and Saudi Arabian top decision makers took part in the forum. The forum was opened by H.E. Brigitte Zypries, German Parliamentary State Secretary of Economy, H.E. Dr. Abdulrahman Al Zamil, Chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC), Dr. Volker Treier, Deputy CEO of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), Sheikh Khaled Al Juffali, Co-Chairman of the Saudi-German Business Council and Managing Partner at E.A. Juffali and Brothers Group and Dr. Wolfgang Büchele, Co-Chairman of the Saudi-German Business Council and Chairman of Linde Group. Representing the economies of both countries the participating entrepreneurs discussed further opportunities for cooperation in four panels covering the topics industrial diversification, Infrastructure and Transport, Energy and Energy Efficiency and Opportunities and Regulatory Challenges in Bilateral Trade. Andreas Hergenröther, Delegate of German Industry & Commerce for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen was co-moderating the forum. “Today, Saudi Arabia is the most important partner in the MENA region for the German Economy. Germany’s economy stands for fair business, the active transfer of knowhow as well as for high quality products. These are the main reasons for the extraordinary success of German exports worldwide“, Hergenroether said. The attending businessmen used this opportunity to meet high-ranking Saudi business representatives to improve existing business relations and to search for new opportunities for cooperation. The forum ended with the Signing of the Agreed Minutes by H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Minister of Finance of Saudi Arabia and H.E. Sigmar Gabriel.
09/03/2015