Members of the newly-formed Qatari-German Joint Task Force committee for the promotion of trade and investment between Qatar and Germany held their first meeting and discussed ways to expand and deepen cooperation between the two countries.
The meeting was organised by Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) in cooperation with the German Industry and Commerce office in Qatar (AHK).
The joint task force was formed during the MoU signing event that took place on September 7, 2018 during the Qatar-Germany Business and Investment Forum held in Berlin. The first meeting of the joint task force was held in the presence of Hans-Udo Muzel, the German Ambassador to Doha and Sheikh Saoud bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, Ambassador of Qatar to Berlin.
From the Qatari side, the joint task force meeting was attended by Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, QBA Chairman; Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman of Qatar Chamber; Sheikh Nawaf bin Nasser Al Thani, QBA Board Member and the Co-Chair of the Joint Task Force, also Salah Al Jaidah, QBA Member, Omar Al Fardan, President and CEO of Al Fardan Group as well as Sarah Abdullah, QBA Deputy GM.
From the German side, the meeting was co-chaired by Volker Treier, Deputy CEO DIHK, and it included Olaf Hoffmann, CEO, Dorsch Group, Mazen Jabri, Managing Director SAP Qatar, Hans-Guenther Jaeger, Director Project Delivery, Deutsche Bahn Qatar and Adrian Wood, CEO, SIEMENS-Qatar.
At the beginning of the meeting, Sheikh Nawaf expressed his hope that this committee will serve as a platform for exchanging ideas on how to enhance cooperation between the two countries and create awareness for German companies about Qatar as a gateway through which they can access and invest not only in the local market but also in other regional and international markets.
He also pointed out the need to take advantage of the presence of pioneers in the German industries as members of the Task Force to support the expansion of joint investments and help find the right partners or contacts, to promote Qatari investments in the German market
For his part, Volker Treier thanked everyone for this meeting and praised the strong German-Qatari relations. He expressed his happiness at the formation of this joint Task Force, which shows the development of bilateral relations and its direction to be more dynamic. He also added to the importance of benefiting from this Task Force to solve any challenges that may face investors from both sides.
Sheikh Faisal expressed that the Qatari investors are fully aware of the great potential of Germany, and said: “We see Germany as a strategic partner through which our cooperation would provide an added value to Qatar’s Economy and benefit from its expertise and the Know-how transfer to the Qatari market.”
He also highlighted about the readiness of the Qatari market and its willingness to attract more investors through the advanced infrastructure that all sectors of the state are working on, as well as Hamad International Airport and its air freight services, in addition to the reduced electricity prices and other privileges that make Qatar an investment hub and a gateway to penetrate and serve other markets
For his part, Sheikh Khalifa (of QC), stressed the need to encourage entrepreneurs from both countries to study opportunities for investment in the German and Qatari markets, he also highlighted the importance of organizing sectoral specialized meetings to study the market needs and the ways to fulfill it.
The Peninsula
01/01/2019
