JEDDAH, 7 November 2007 — The Consulate General of Germany will resume issuing visas from Jeddah once the consulate moves to a new building that is currently under consideration.
“Construction of a new building for the consulate is now under serious consideration and once the building is ready we will resume full consular services including issuing visas,” German Consul General Dr. Michael Zickerick said on Monday night. The consulate had stopped issuing visas from Jeddah about two years ago.
“It will still take some time, but with the cooperation and help of the Kingdom and the Jeddah Governorate we will be able to achieve the goal,” he said, addressing the 17th anniversary of the German National Day at Jeddah Hilton.
“From Germany’s point of view, Jeddah has always been and remains the most important commercial and business center and a political hub as well. This has prompted my government, after some years of low key presence, to decide to put all possible efforts to work and reestablish a fully functional Consulate General here again,” he said.
Dr. Zickerick said that it was a happy augury that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah was officially visiting Germany this week. Angela Merkel, Germany’s first woman chancellor, had visited the Kingdom in February. “The personal chemistry between our respective leaders can only be described as very good, close and warm,” the consul general said.
Germany is keenly interested and ready to assist its Saudi partners in making the best use of its potential. “To this end, Germany is committed to a fruitful cooperation, especially in logistics, education science and technology as well as in industrial development,” he said.
“The Western Province and its prosperous city of Jeddah would play a major role in our bilateral cooperation, and indeed here we can build upon a rock solid friendship and decades old intense business and commercial relations,” Dr. Zickerick said.
Chief guest Muhammad A. Tayeb, director general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Makkah region, said King Abdullah’s visit to Germany would be a major turning point in bilateral relations and help open a new horizon for cooperation in political, scientific, economic, commercial and investment fields.
“Germany is considered one of the largest trading partners of Saudi Arabia. We in the Kingdom have been looking at Germany as a great country that plays a central role in Europe as well as on the world stage, making effective contributions toward global peace and security,” Tayeb said.
“In this context, we expect Germany to play a more effective and dynamic role in order to deepen the values of justice and equality in international relations. We also expect Germany to shoulder its responsibility toward reviving the Middle East peace process in order to enable the Palestinians to regain their legitimate rights and help the region’s people enjoy peace, security and prosperity like other peoples of the world,” he added.
