JEDDAH, 3 March 2005 — The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (JCCI) yesterday suggested to Germany to take advantage of billions of dollars of Saudi Arabia’s present and future infrastructure projects for expanding the bilateral ties. “Participation in an estimated $600 billion worth of projects in the next 20 years across the Kingdom could help boost your volume of trade and investment,” JCCI Secretary-General Mohammed A. Al-Sharif told a breakfast meeting organized by the Delegate of German Foreign Trade & Industry at Le Jeddah Meridien. The meeting was held in cooperation with the JCCI and Mohammed Yousuf Naghi Motors. German Consul General Dr. Stephan Keller was the guest of honor.
“Germany, and especially the European Union, could look into participating in the Kingdom’s rapidly expanding infrastructure, in particular ports, railways, and water,” he said, adding that while bilateral trade is in its place offering scope for expansion, participation in infrastructure projects means long term investment and relationship. “Germany and Europe as a whole should foresee this as an opportunity. The recent Jeddah Economic Forum also had focused on the potentially rich areas of infrastructure development for overseas investment,” he said. He had a word of appreciation for the German diplomatic mission here for its sustained effort to remove the “misconception about the Kingdom’s status,” he said. “I haven’t seen major investments from Germany in the last couple of years. I don’t know the reasons. However, Germany’s likely participation in long-term investment with Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) could be a “new way to go ahead” in strengthening the relationship, he added.
Dr. Keller said German Chancellor Schroeder’s two visits in the past 18 months could pave the way for further consolidating the bilateral relationship. “His visit last week was very important that could take the existing ties to greater heights and bring the two countries closer,” he said. Several contracts were signed during Schroeder’s latest visit. He said the chancellor was in Riyadh recently in the context of the Kingdom’s ongoing and future massive infrastructure development plans. The German business and investor community is eager to compete and be a partner in various projects.
The annual bilateral trade is worth 4 billion euro. Jeddah is very important from the point of view of commerce and industry, and that is why we are here and will continue to offer services and assistance to businessmen from both countries, Dr. Keller said and reiterated that the German consulate here has not been downsized, but its activities curtailed until it is ready to move into a new complex that will be ready within a year or two. “Until we’re able to re-establish our full-fledged consulate here, all visas will continue to be processed at the embassy in Riyadh,” he said.
“There is huge demand from the Saudi side and I hope German companies can fulfill the demand and come to the Saudi market, the largest in the region, for partnership and investment,” Patrick Martens, deputy at the Delegate of German Foreign Trade & Industry and head of its Jeddah branch, said.
“There is now a growing interest for the Saudi market in Germany, however German businesses that largely comprise small and medium companies find difficulty in participating in the Kingdom’s projects that need huge investment. We’ve companies in areas like science and technology, especially biometric and data software, are competing with major global players. And they do succeed in the fierce competition,” he said.