Gerhard Schröder was speaking during a Bahrain-German Economic Forum to mark a German business delegation's visit to the country.
The forum, held at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, was attended by top government officials, businessmen and members of the delegation.
Schröder's visit was part of efforts to bolster German-Bahrain ties in trade, commerce, investment and cultural sectors.
"The business community of both countries is facing the problem of not having an adequate knowledge of existing potential in vital areas. Germany is keen in the scientific, cultural, business and education sectors and frequent exchange of visits will help the businesses to know more about each other," he said.
Schröder, leading the high-powered business delegation, said the German economy was on the rebound.
"The timely action by the government helped to bring the economy back on the right track. Germany offers rare business opportunities for the investors from Bahrain," he said.
Gerhard Schröder said King Hamad's visit to Germany in 2008 provided a new impetus to existing ties between the two countries, adding that continued efforts would help take them to new heights.
The Bahraini Minister of Industry and Commerce Hassan Fakhro said the forum aimed to bolster trade and business relationships between the private sectors of both countries.
"Bahrain has a long history of trade with the Federal Republic of Germany, which today remains one of our most important trading partners, with the EU as a bloc accounting for the bulk of our nonoil exports and imports. I would expect that completion of the proposed GCC-EU free trade agreement would add a further dimension to our trade," he said.
"There could be no better time for German companies to look at the Middle East region, indeed the MENA region as a whole. For their growth prospects against the backdrop of shrinking global trade, particularly considering the substantial domestic demand in Arab countries, in particular for manufactured products, there is obviously an excellent business case for increased Arab-German cooperation."
