KSA, Germany Have Enormous Potentials to Expand Bilateral Investments – Al-Falih Says

Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, the Minister of Investment said that the Kingdom offers numerous high-quality investment prospects for prominent German firms.

Speaking at an event hosted on Thursday by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Investment and the North Africa-Middle East Initiative of German Business (NMI) in the presence of a group of German businessmen.

“Germany and Saudi Arabia are partners with shared objectives and ambitions, as well as strong economic and commercial ties that underlie our bilateral relationship, including our participation in the G20. The Kingdom has tremendous opportunity to increase its investment and trade ties with Germany,” he added.

According to Al-Falih, German, international, and Saudi firms working in the Kingdom benefit from the Kingdom strategic geographic location, which includes not only being in the center of the Middle East, but also serving as a link between three continents: Asia, Europe, and Africa. Thus, these firms may reach and service more than half of the world population in just five hours.

Eng. Al-Falih noted that Germany is a key trade and investment partner for the Kingdom, and that it was the Kingdom fourth-largest source of imports in 2020.

“Several major German firms have established regional headquarters in the Kingdom, including companies that recently signed MoUs with the Ministry of Investment to do so,” he stressed.

The Minister stated that Kingdom Vision 2030 is leading the country economic development and is striving to open up new investment possibilities for a variety of foreign and Saudi companies. He spoke on prospects in a variety of critical industries, including manufacturing, logistics, health care, and life sciences, as well as renewable energy.

Al-Falih highlighted that German companies have the expertise and experience that facilitates their entry into the Saudi market and improves their ability to capitalize on available opportunities, especially since the Kingdom has worked in recent years to implement a wide range of economic and legislative reforms to support and improve the business environment. Such reforms have improved the Kingdom competitiveness and its ranking in global reports.

It is worth noting that the Ministry of Investment hosted this virtual event in collaboration with the North Africa-Middle East Initiative of German Business (NMI), a specialized organization dedicated to strengthening bilateral business, economic, and investment relations between Germany and North African and Middle Eastern countries.