1st Constituent Meeting of the German Qatari Joint Task Force for Trade and Investment

The Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) in cooperation with the German Industry and Commerce office in Qatar (AHK), organized the first meeting of the German-Qatari Joint task Force, which was formed during the MOU signing 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 H.E. Mr. Hans-Udo Muzel, the German Ambassador to Doha and H.E. Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, Ambassador of the State 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 Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Sheikh Nawaf Bin Nasser Al Thani, QBA Board Member and the Co-Chair of the Joint Task Force, also Mr. Salah Al Jaidah, QBA Member, Mr. Omar Al Fardan, President and CEO of Al Fardan Group as well as Ms. Sarah Abdullah, QBA Deputy GM

From the German Side, the Meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Volker Treier, Deputy CEO DIHK, and it included Mr. Olaf Hoffmann, CEO, Dorsch Group, Mr. Mazen Jabri, Managing Director SAP Qatar, Mr. Hans-Guenther Jaeger, Director Project Delivery, Deutsche Bahn Qatar and Mr. Adrian Wood, CEO, SIEMENS Qatar

At the beginning of the meeting, Sheikh Nawaf welcomed the German delegation and expressed his pleasure at holding this meeting at this particular time and after the Qatar Germany Business and Investment Forum which was held in Berlin last September, hoping 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, Mr. 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

Also, Sheikh Faisal expressed his pleasure to participate in this meeting, stressing that the Qatari investor is fully aware of the great potential of Germany, "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 added. Sheikh Faisal also talked 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 bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 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 organising sectoral specialized meetings to study the market needs and the ways to fulfil it

During the meeting, Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, the Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Berlin, thanked Sheikh Nawaf Bin Nasser Al-Thani and Mr. Volker Trier for this meeting. He spoke about the importance of the agreement in strengthening relations between the private sector in both countries. And also, the need to focus on developing the areas of cooperation specially in the sectors mentioned in the MOU such as infrastructure, trade, industry, information technology and science.

Mr. Al-Fardan also stressed the importance of establishing genuine partnerships with the German counterparts, whereby the German expertise and experience will be transferred to the Qatari side and not limit this cooperation in the traditional methods such as agencies or merchandise trade.

Also, Mr. Salah Al-Jaidah spoke about the successful experience of Deutsche Bank in Qatar and stressed that Qatar is a safe market for the foreign investor and that its infrastructure and legislation system make Qatar an example for developing economic relations with its partners

The meeting Agenda included several topics where the two sides discussed the potential ways of collaboration in the Small and Medium Enterprises and the means to support its development, they also discussed the challenges of doing business in Qatar as well as Germany and the potential cooperation between ports and how to develop the links between German Ports and in specific the port of Hamburg - The world 3rd busiest port - and between Qatar Port

Both teams also discussed the importance of supporting the signing of the double taxation treaty as well as the cooperation and investment in free zones. They agreed on the need to participate in conferences and trade fairs in both countries, the most important of which is the Hannover International Fair, scheduled to be held in April 2019. The two sides also agreed in principle that the second meeting of the Joint Task Force will be held next February on the sidelines of the Joint Economic Committee that will take place in Berlin