DOHA: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will head to the city of Berlin today on a working visit to the Federal Republic of Germany, where His Highness will hold meetings with German President Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Chancellor Angela Merkel and a number of senior officials to discuss bilateral relations and means of boosting them, in addition to discussing issues of common concern.
H H the Amir and the German Chancellor will open the 9th Qatar Germany Business and Investment Forum, which will begin in Berlin on Friday. H H the Amir will be accompanied, during the visit, by an official delegation and a number of Qatari businessmen.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H E Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani will attend the opening session of the Business and Investment Forum.
German Ambassador to Qatar Hans-Udo Muzel will participate in the political meetings and the business conference. The Forum organisers quoted the ambassador as saying that “the strategic character of German-Qatar economic and investment relation is a success story, built on mutual trust, excellent quality, services, progress and stability for over more than 40 years now.”
Michael Müller, Governing Mayor of Berlin, will deliver the introductory remarks to the opening of the Qatar-Germany Business and Investment Forum.
H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, Minister of Economy and Commerce; H E Ali Shereef Al Emadi, Minister of Finance; H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry, H E Mohamed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi, Minister of Municipality and Environment; Dr Ulrich Nussbaum, State Secretary, Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany; Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saoud Al Thani, CEO, Qatar Investment Authority; Eng. Saad Sherida Al Kaabi; President and CEO, Qatar Petroleum; Ali Ahmed Al Kuwari, Group CEO, Qatar National Bank; Akber Al Baker, CEO, Qatar Airways; Christian Sewing, CEO, Deutsche Bank; and Yousuf Mohammed Al Jaidah, CEO and Board Member, Qatar Financial Centre will address various sessions.
Qatar holds high aspirations to expand and invest in new markets. Bringing together numerous important German and Qatari decision-makers, companies and investors, the event will be a major opportunity for both countries to promote trade relations and investments. The forum will enjoy wide participation of senior government officials and decision makers, in addition to the businessmen and representatives from both the public and private sectors, according to the organisers.
The 9th edition of its kind is organized by the National Committee for organising the Business and Investment in Qatar Forum and is expected to attract over 800 participants, including top-ranked representatives from the Qatari and German public and business sector. Among the organizing partners are the Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA), Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI), the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), Arab German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ghorfa), Euro-Mediterranean Arab Association (EMA) and the German Near and Middle East Association (NUMOV).
Previous Qatar Business and Investment Forums have been successfully held in various major economic hubs like London, New York, Paris and Berlin, venue of the 2013 Business and Investment Forum in Germany. Building on solid grounds, the Forum 2018 will contribute to further strengthening the outstanding partnership between the State of Qatar and the Federal Republic of Germany as one of Qatar’s largest trading partners.
