THE holy month of Ramadan is the most important time of the year for Muslims around the world. The German-Saudi Arabian Liaison Office for Economic Affairs (GESALO) with its almost 40 years of presence in the Kingdom acknowledges the importance of breaking the fast together with friends and partners. Therefore, GESALO held a German-Saudi business Iftar event at the Narcissus Hotel & Residence Wednesday. In the presence of the German Ambassador Dieter W. Haller and his team from the economic department, GESALO Delegate Oliver Oehms and his Deputies Dr. Kim J. Zietlow and Al-Ameen Al-Dalali welcomed more than 60 international business people. Oehms said, "I am glad to see so people from many different countries and organizations. We are glad to bring business people together and interact with each other." Representative for the international reach of the GESALO network was the presence of Riad G. Abdo (director general — Global Business Development at Saudi Export Development Authority), Mrs. Lucie Berger (head of Trade Section at the EU Embassy), Chris Johnson (chairman of the American Business Group of Riyadh), Dr. Aimo Bülte (Global CEO of Dornier Consulting International), and Frank Weise (Horváth Saudi Arabia LLC) among others. As the official representative of German Industry & Commerce, GESALO works closely with German, Saudi, and international companies and private institutions. In the year 2016, the bilateral trade volume between Germany and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia amounted to SR34 billion (8 billion euro). The German economy is strongly committed to support the Vision 2030. For instance, German companies heavily participate in the National Renewable Energy Program and projects in the health care and medical sector as well as technical and vocational education. German technical knowhow and machinery is crucial to build a solid economic and societal foundation for the Kingdom to be prepared for the future.
