The Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will meet today with Chancellor of the friendly Federal Republic of Germany H E Olaf Scholz who will arrive in Doha on an official visit to the State of Qatar.
H H the Amir and H E the German Chancellor will discuss the bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and ways of promoting and strengthening them in various fields, in addition to the most prominent regional and international issues of common concern.
The visit of the German Chancellor to Doha reflects the strong and distinguished relations between the State of Qatar and the Federal Republic of Germany, and the keenness of the leaders of both countries to develop and push forward the bilateral cooperation and partnership between the two countries to new horizons in various fields, in order to serve the common interests of the two friendly countries.
Qatar and Germany enjoy strong and deep-rooted friendship and partnership based on mutual trust and common interests. These relationship has been spanning decades of cooperation in the political, economic, trade and investment fields, and there is an ongoing dialogue and continuous consultation between the two sides on political coordination regarding regional issues as well as hot international files.
The two countries are linked by several economic agreements and memorandums of understanding, most notably the Agreement on Mutual Promotion and Protection of Investments, agreements in the fields of industry, trade, health, culture, sports, archaeology, solar energy, civil aviation and air transport, and the agreement to establish a joint committee for commercial, economic and technical cooperation, which has organized many sessions over the past years.
It is expected that the relations between the two countries will witness wider prospects in the coming period, especially in light of the agreements and memorandums of understanding signed between the two countries and the momentum that has been reflected in the high-level visits between Doha and Berlin, the most recent of which is the working visit of H H the Amir to Germany on May 20, 2022. During the visit, the two sides discussed relations between the two friendly countries and ways of bolstering them at all levels, including the fields of education, economy, investment, energy and defense.
During HH the Amir's visit to the Federal Republic of Germany in May, the two countries signed a joint declaration of intent to strengthen the joint cooperation in the field of energy. This agreement is based on the successful and continuous dialogue between Qatar and Germany, and is expected to expand further into an energy partnership by building trade relations in the field of liquefied natural gas that serves the interests of the two countries and achieves their ambitions in climate action.
This partnership is expected to promote diversification in Germany's energy supply through LNG imports from Qatar, while facilitating bilateral cooperation in hydrogen and renewable energies.
The energy partnership between Qatar and Germany will support the high-level dialogue on various energy topics, build bridges between the two countries and bring together stakeholders from the public and private sectors.
Germany is a strategic partner of the State of Qatar and an important destination for Qatari investments which amounted to about 25 billion euros. These investments include vital projects in the automotive, information technology and banking sectors. The pace of these investments has increased, especially following the historic visit of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to Germany in 2018, during which His Highness announced the intention of the State of Qatar to inject investments worth 10 billion euros into the German economy over the next five years. The volume of trade exchange between Qatar and Germany increased by 8% in 2021, reaching more than $3b. The number of German companies that contribute to the development of the Qatari economy exceeds 330 companies working in vital fields such as energy, construction, services, railway development, and trade, in addition to the participation of German companies in infrastructure projects, as well as in projects for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Qatar owns stakes in the most important German commercial and banking groups, as well Qatar is the largest shareholder in the giant Volkswagen Group, with a stake of $9 billion. The State of Qatar, based on its National Vision 2030, has worked to provide the appropriate investment climate, through a series of laws and legislations that attract investment, as well as the political and social stability that the country enjoys.
Thanks to its strategic geographical location as a commercial transit gateway, Qatar has a major link between the East and the West, in addition to its advanced digital infrastructure that ensures the smooth flow of trade and capital for international investors. Qatar’s large commercial port and airlines connects it to the most important cities and global trade routes.
