German carmaker Volkswagen AG said early this week that it will strengthen its cooperation with Qatar in the fields of research, development and education. A delegation from Volkswagen, Porsche Automobil Holding SE and from the German state of Lower Saxony has visited Qatar and met with high-level officials from the emirate. Among the discussed topics were possible research cooperation into new materials, energy production and storage, fuel economy optimization in engines, and the medium-term openings for establishing a vehicle materials test laboratory. Qatar Holding LLC (QH) is one of Volkswagen AG's major shareholders, along with the state of Lower Saxony and Porsche SE. The shareholding is the emirate's largest single investment to date. Volkswagen is Europe's biggest carmaker. Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) said that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which sets out the foundation for a series of cooperation initiatives between QH, Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), Volkswagen AG (VW) and Porsche SE (PSE). The MOU seeks to develop further cooperation between QH, QSTP, VW and PSE within the State of Qatar subsequent to QH investment in these German automotive companies in August 2009. QH investment in PSE and VW had envisaged the establishment of R&D and testing and training facilities in Doha, as well as other avenues of cooperation.
