(MENAFN- The Peninsula) QNA
Berlin: CEO of the German Association for Small and Medium Businesses (BVMW) Markus Jerger (pictured) has described the visit of the Amir H H sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Berlin as a historic opportunity to achieve further development in Qatari-German relations.
Jerger added, in an interview with QNA that the trade exchange between the two countries, which reached QR11.2bn in 2021 compared to QR6.4bn in 2020, is likely to increase significantly during the coming period thanks to the strong friendly relations between both countries.
Jerger reiterated that he had very positive impressions from his recent visit to Doha in November and his meeting with a large number of officials in Qatar. He also praised the investment environment Qatar enjoys and its investment capacity, as well as the infrastructure inaugurated by the country within the framework of its National Vision 2030.
He also revealed the Association's plan to open a regional office in Doha to fully develop relations with Qatar and the Middle East. The office will serve as an investment window that attracts all future investment fields, such as investment in health technology, pharmaceutical industry, clean energy and environmental fields, water and other important areas to create a sustainable future.
He added that the role of the Association will be to choose the most appropriate companies capable of investing in Qatar and with experience in this field, pointing out that investing in the electric car industry and energy conservation and providing solutions in the field of food using artificial intelligence have become inevitable areas.
He noted that Qatar is a fertile environment to incubate those industries of the future.
Jerger also explained that German Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck visited Doha in March and returned with positive impressions which helped in pursuing investment and economic relations development between both countries.
The CEO further explained that there are three main factors pushing towards an ideal development of economic relations between Qatar and Germany, the first of which is the political openness between the two countries during the recent period, in addition to the desire of Qatar to achieve comprehensive development focused on the field of sustainability and the future economy, in addition to the role of the Association through its intended representative office that will open in Qatar in the coming period.
Regarding the Association of Small and Medium Businesses and its goal, Jerger said that the idea of the Association came about 45 years ago when around 30 entrepreneurs began thinking about an association to transfer experience between them. He said the number of its members has increased from 30 members 45 years ago to nearly 900,000 members now. The Association has also become the voice of businessmen for the government and tools of decision-makers, Jerger added.
He explained that the Association has offices throughout Germany as well as 75 offices around the world; and the office number 76 will soon open in Qatar.
He stressed that the Association's main goal is to achieve the interests of the Association's entrepreneurs and help them inside and outside Germany.
He added that 99 percent of companies in Germany are small and medium-sized companies, while the remaining one percent is for large companies such as Siemens, Deutsche Bank, Mercedes and others. Not all small and medium companies are able to invest and enter the Qatari market, so the role of the Association is to know the companies eligible to enter this market and give them useful information in this field, Jerger said.
He added that among the 900,000 companies that are members of the Association, there are 350 companies which are considered the elite in the medium-sized companies, as these companies have 1.2 million employees and a production of about €120bn annually. In addition to that, 60 percent of the workforce in Germany work in small and medium companies, and the remaining percentage work for the government and only 1 percent work in major companies.
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