A Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Tuesday (Jan. 31) between the Deputy Chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mazen Batrajee and Deputy Delegate of German Industry and Commerce for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen Al-Ameen Al-Dalali to promote the mutual interests of both organizations and develop the mutual beneficial trade and economic relations. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in the presence of former president of the Federal Republic of Germany Christian Wulff, Holger Ziegeler, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Jeddah; and Co-Chairman of the Saudi –German Business Council Sheikh Khaled Al-Juffali. In addition, a cooperation agreement was signed between German-Saudi Arabian Liaison Office for Economic Affairs (GESALO) represented by Al-Ameen Al-Dalali and three different companies: Law Offices of Tariq Hamoud Al-Ibrahim, represented by Dr.Tariq Hamoud Al-Ibrahim - General Manager; Tawthiq Al-Afkar Co., represented by Mrs. Huda O. Bashmail - Deputy General Manager; and Arabian Mehad Excellence LTD(AME) represented by Dr.Eihab Hassan Abourokbah - General Manager. During the meeting, several subjects were discussed such as the solid economic relations between Germany and Saudi Arabia, in which German investments in the kingdom play an important role in developing technology and experience in various sectors including infrastructure and the industry sector. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia represents one of the most important trading partners for Germany in the region, in which trade exchange has reached more than 47 billion riyals in 2016. The meeting also ensured the need to strengthen the German-Saudi Arabian Cooperation in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector, since the German experience in this sector is known for its remarkable deals and experience. The need to promote this sector in Saudi Arabia is important especially in the light of the 2030 Vision, which aspires to increase the annual contribution of SMEs in the GDP from 20% to 35%. The thriving cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Germany always focuses on various fields such as education and training, transfer of technology, energy, industry, infrastructure, petrochemical, transportation, healthcare and SMEs. — SG
