The 'Business and Investment in Qatar Forum' for this year will be held in Berlin on April 15 and 16 .
A formal announcement on holding the meeting was made at a press conference organised by the Permanent Committee of Organising Conferences in collaboration with the Qatari Businessmen Association.
The forum will be held under the patronage and with the presence of HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The event is being organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the QBA in collaboration with the Ministry of Business and Trade, the German Industry and Commerce Office in Qatar, and the Arab-German chamber of commerce and industry.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohamed bin Jabr al-Thani, Minister's Assistant for International Co-operation Affairs and Chairman of the Permanent Committee for Organising Conferences, said: "This year's forum in Berlin comes after the huge success of the last forum, which was held in April 2011 in New York City, where it attracted more than 1000 government officials, businessmen and chairmen from major US and Qatari companies."
Major agreements worth over $2.5bn were signed between Qatar and the US at the previous edition.
"The [2013] forum, aims at promoting the business and investment opportunities in the state of Qatar, and highlights Qatar's economic, social, political, and cultural success, while providing a platform for Qatari businessmen to meet with their counterparts at the host country," Sheikh Ahmed said.
QBA chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani said the forum's selection of Berlin this year as the host city reflected the strong economic relationship between Qatar and Germany.
Trade volumes between the two countries touched €1.1bn in 2011.
"Qatar also has many investments in Germany which include 9.1% stake in Hochtief, a 10% stake in Porsche, and a 17% stake in Volkswagen. On the other hand, a strong presence of German companies within Qatar's construction sector is viewed where Deutsche Bahn has signed a €17bn contract to build Qatar Railway project and Albert Speers has designed the main stadium for the World Cup 2022," he said.
When asked whether there were any preconditions, such as the European Union concerns about work sponsorship issues when doing business with a European country such as Germany, Sheikh Ahmed said all legislation in Qatar, including the ones concerning human rights were under evaluation. He said that while it was understandable that the German side has its own requirements and needs, Qatar too has its own requirements. In any case the forum would help in providing a platform to address such concerns, he added.
When asked whether there were any plans to supply gas to Germany, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, director of oil and gas ventures, Qatar Petroleum, said "Yes, we have talks going on about it [with the Germans]. But at the moment, the infrastructure in Germany is not ready to receive the gas."
QP is one of the main sponsors of the event in Berlin, along with Shell and ExxonMobil Qatar.
Speaking on the sidelines of the press conference with the Gulf Times, Angelika Renate Storz-Chakarji, ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, said the Qatar forum in Berlin was a very important development in terms of bilateral relations between the two countries, especially since it would facilitate companies on both sides.
She said German companies were especially interested in offering their expertise in various big infrastructure development projects taking place in Qatar.
The two-day programme in Berlin will have a broad participation of senior government officials and decision-makers, businessmen and representatives of public and private sector from both countries. Some of the sessions include "Investing in the Future: Qatar's National Vision 2030;" "Energy Sector: A Foundation for Future Diversification & Growth", and "Qatari - German Investments: A Foundation of Solid Partnership."
Abdullah Fakhro, executive director of the Permanent Committee for Organising Conferences; Sheikh Thani bin Thamer al-Thani, deputy director general, Shell; and Saleh al-Mana, vice president of government and public affairs, ExxonMobil were present at the press conference.
© Gulf Times 2013
