German companies have strong presence in the Saudi market, especially those working in the field of advanced technology, Faisal Al-Qurashi, member of the Board of Directors, Eastern Province Chamber, said during a meeting held Monday with the German business delegation at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry headquarters. In the Kingdom, there are four hundred German companies, including Mercedes Benz and Siemens. Al-Qurashi urged the German ambassador to the Kingdom Dieter W. Haller and the accompanying business delegation to study investment opportunities in huge projects being implemented in Jubail industrial cities (1 & 2) and Ras Al-Khair area. Haller, who headed the delegation, said German companies are interested in developing the field of renewable energy in the Kingdom. "We have a lot to offer to the Kingdom in this field." Germany has considerable expertise and renovation capability in renewable energy and currently it generates 16 percent of its electricity needs from renewable energy by using wind, gas and sunlight, the German ambassador pointed out. He also said there are indications that there will be partnership between Germany and the Kingdom in this field in light of the fact that sunlight is available almost all year around in the Kingdom. German companies are also interested in building water desalination stations in the future which use solar energy, he added. The German government decided to get rid of its nuclear energy stations by 2022, he added. "Saudi-German commercial relations are entering new horizons of cooperation. This year, over six German delegations visited the Kingdom. We're waiting for the visits of two Saudi delegations to Germany soon." Bilateral trade between the Kingdom and Germany has grown, with German exports to the Kingdom registering an increase of 20 percent at $9.5 billion in 2011, while Saudi exports to Germany hit $1 for the same period, the ambassador noted. – SG __
