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Governmental
Gateways in Saudi-Arabia and in Germany
Saudi-Arabian
Information Resource
The Saudi Arabian Information Resource, a Saudi Ministry of Culture
& Information website, contains more than 2,000 pages of
information on every aspect of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. For some
aspects (for example the statistics you can find on this website) the
information has not been updated recently, but in the News section, you
have a weekly overview of articles concerning all aspects of Saudi
economy and politics. Ministries, governmental agencies etc. are listed
with their addresses and their respective missions. Important laws like
the new law on foreign investment are outlined and one very useful
feature of this webseite is its detailed index, which enables the user
to be linked immediately with the topic he is interested in.
Official gateway to Germany
Deutschland.de (das offizielle Deutschland
Portal) is available in 6 languages, including English and Arabic, and
covers all aspects of life like : Culture, Economy, Education, Health,
Media, Science, Sports, State and Tourism. Deutschland.de is a gateway,
this means you will find commented lists of specialised servers but not
directly the final information.
The "Education / German as a foreign language" heading for instance
leads you to a list of all servers useful for people who want to learn
German, be it in Germany or abroad, including servers like the one
listing all German schools in the world, or of course the "Goethe
Institute".
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General
information on Saudi-Arabia and Germany
Saudi-Arabia , Germany
The CIA World Fact book
is widely known for its accurate description and statistics of the
World's countries; geography, history, population, government, economy,
military etc. are some of the topics treated in the fact sheets. It is
a starting point for anybody trying to get some basic information about
any country in the world.
Bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia
and Germany
This page on the
server of the
German Ministry of Foreign Affairs (http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de)
gives an
excellent overview on the political, economic and cultural relations
between the two countries. Moreover, by the main menu on the right side
of the
page, you might find a lot of very interesting and useful information
about Saudi Arabia.
Information on the OECD server : Germany
Germany as an OECD member
country is widely documented on the OECD server, whereas there is
almost no information on Saudi-Arabia.
Information on the Worldbank server : Germany
Saudi Arabia
The "Data and Statistics"
part of the Worldbank server provides a very large display of all kinds
of statistics, like economic profiles of each country, ICT, gender,
education, health and nutrition statistics and many more. For each type
of data a drop down list invites you to choose a country and to
display the different statistics pertaining to the chosen country.
ArabNet on Saudi Arabia :
ArabNet is owned by ArabNet Technology
(ANT), part of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group, publisher of the
leading newspapers and magazines in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
including Asharq Al-Awsat.
Under the headings
History, Geography, Business, Culture, Government,Transport and Tour
Guide, you will find a lot of useful information, which seems to be
quite up to date (pages with 2002 copyright). A pity that there
are not more direct links to the Web sites of some of the listed
Ministries or other organizations. We found few mistakes (like
describing the Jeddah Airport under the heading of the Riadh Airport
and vice versa, nothing serious in fact).
These pages are very useful for all foreigners wanting to work or do
business in the Kingdom. The business chapter for instance includes
information about "Licensing, import and export duties, private sector
joint ventures and agents".... and many more.
Saudi / Arab - German
Business Exchanges
Two important organisations for
doing business in Saudi Arabia in general and in Jeddah in particular :
SAGIA : Saudi
Arabian General Investment Authority
SAGIA is the gateway to
investment in Saudi Arabia. SAGIA's mission is to provide services to
the investor and to improve the invesment climate in Saudi Arabia.
Sagia was created by the Government of Saudi Arabia in April 2000, when
it announced a new Foreign Investment Law. SAGIA has since been
actively working with the government and other agencies towards a Saudi
development vision for the 21st century.
Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(JCCI)
The JCCI Website
presents all the different departments of the Chamber and contains some
useful information about the local companies (members' searchable
database). Several other pages and databases (like the "Business
opportunities" database or the "Ladies section" page) must have been
set up quite recently and are still in need of content.
Saudi German business organisations :
SAGECO
: Saudi German Development and Investment Company
Given its role as a development company,
SAGECO organizes symposiums and lectures on the Kingdom and
participates in the industrial fairs held in Germany to highlight the
opportunities and incentives available for investment in the
industrial, agricultural and services sectors of the Kingdom. To
promote German investments by encouraging joint ventures in the
industrial, agricultural and services sectors of the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia Sageco is committed to a number of activities such as:
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Assisting project
promoters in sourcing out a suitable partner for the purpose of
establishing a joint venture project in Saudi Arabia.
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Organizing or
participating in commercial exhibitions and symposiums where the
businessmen normally get to meet each other and necessary background on
suitable projects is developed.
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Conducting preliminary
economic studies and providing advice on procedural matters.
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If necessary, participate
in the capital of Saudi-German projects.
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Assisting in obtaining
loans for joint projects and undertaking other activities for the
achievement of Company objectives.
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GESALO
The German-Saudi Arabian Liaison Office for Economic Affairs
(GESALO) was set up in 1978 by the German Association of Chambers of
Industry and Commerce. It is part of the global network of German
chambers of industry and commerce, the German Association of Chambers
of Industry and Commerce and the bilateral German Chambers of Foreign
Trade. GESALO, which has offices in Riyadh and Jiddah, supports and
promotes bilateral economic relations between Germany and the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia.
E-trade-center
Numerous German
organizations both within Germany and abroad receive requests for
business contacts from foreign companies. And companies in Germany, for
their part, also wish to publicize their business inquiries with a
focus on a particular country or countries, or even worldwide.
With the support of
the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit (Federal German Ministry of Economics and
Labour ), business contacts
inquiries are announced to German and foreign companies via a single
access using the central business contacts database.www.
e-trade-center com enables both German and foreign companies to
publicize their products and services on Internet and, conversely, to
enquire for the products and services they need. Companies can enter
their business enquiries in e-trade-center themselves, using the
corresponding questionnaire. This
site provides interested German and foreign companies with an immediate
overview of other companies' requirements for business contacts,
enabling them to contact potential business partners directly.
e-trade-center was
set up in 2001 as the Internet database of the German Chambers of
Commerce Abroad (AHKs), the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce
(IHKs) and the Association of German Chambers Industry and Commerce
(DIHK). The business contact databases operated by the IHKs, the AHKs
and the DIHK, plus that of the German Office for Foreign Trade (bfai),
were merged on December 1, 2002. This cooperation project received
the support of the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit.
AUMA,
the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry
www.auma-fairs.com
This important website
gives you all information needed about trade fairs worldwide, where we
learn for instance that in 2005 25 trade fairs are planned in the
different cities of the Kingdom (as compared to 94 trade fairs in the
UAE for instance).
Informations provided include : venue,
interval, city, date, organiser, sponsor, industry sectors,
main product group, opening hours, space available, statistics on
exhibitors and visitors.
Arab
decision : The most comprehensive Database in the Arab World
http://www.arabdecision.org
This
database seems to be one of quite a few attempts to give political,
economical and business information on the countries of the so called
"Arab World". The database points to information about 19
countries, of which only Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia,
UAE, Jordan and Morocco are presently available.
The database has the ambition to give the names of the directors of
Government services or the top managers of private companies. This is a
field of information which must be continuously updated and it is
therefore very difficult to have it all up to date. In numerous cases
the Database gives biographical information on the cited top managers
and sometimes we even find a photo.
Business Etiquette in
Saudi Arabia and in Germany
http://www.executiveplanet.com/
Executive Planet provides
business etiquette guides for 42 countries of the world, including most
European countries as well as quite a few Arab countries, like Jordan,
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the UAE. The topics include hints about
making appointments, how to address people, appropriate business gifts,
conversation and negotiation, public behaviour and many others.
Studying German and
Studying in Germany
Deutsche Schule
Jeddah (German School in Jeddah)
The German School in Jeddah follows the
german curricula and teaches up to year 10. The lessons are given in
german, but students have english and arabic lessons from year 2 or 3.
Goethe Institut
Goethe Institute is the worldwide network of
Institutes teaching the german language and culture. Unfortunately for
the moment, there is no such institute in Saudi-Arabia, the nearest
institutes in the Middle East being located in Amman or in Cairo. To
make up for this missing link in the network, the SGBG and the German
Consulate General in Jeddah recently set up a German Language Center
TestDaf (Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache)
This server gives all necessary information on the assessment of your
knowledge of the German language. It might be compared to the Toefl
test for the English language. Succes in this test is often a
preliminary requirement for entering a university curriculum in
Germany. As might be expected the nearest (to Saudi-Arabia) examination
centers are the Goethe Institutes in Kairo or in Amman.
Gate
Germany
One of the missions of this server is to
assist German universities and higher education institutions to market
their offers for international high qualified students. A second
edition of the CD-ROM "Qualifying in Germany - Study and Research
Opportunities" accompanied by a printed brochure is in preparation.
DAAD
Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst : German Academic Exchange
Service.
One of DAAD 's five principal missions is
the support and advancement of the young international academic elite
for the purpose of gaining future leaders and executives in science and
culture, business and politics as partners and friends of Germany.
The DAAD supports the specialist and personal qualification of the
young international academic elite at Germany's higher education and
research institutions by awarding scholarships and grants which are
largely funded from the resources of the German Foreign Ministry and
the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development. Target
groups include students, practical interns, student trainees, doctoral
candidates, academics and scientists who are chosen from the large
number of applicants by the DAAD's independent selection committees.
The DAAD maintains contacts with its scholarship holders over and
beyond the concrete support awarded in Germany and thereby creates a
network of leaders and executives well disposed towards Germany.
Its English speaking homepage shows a menu heading titled : "Study,
research and teaching in Germany" which provides all useful information
on how to plan your studies, how to select the appropriate University
and curriculum, which are the requirements for candidates, which are
the possibilities for obtaining a scholarship and so forth.
Scholarships (page of the server of the German
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Promotion of international student, academic and research exchanges.
The Federal Foreign Office itself does not, in principle, award any
scholarships, grants for travelling costs etc. directly. It has
transferred this task to independant cultural organizations which it
provides with funds from the Federal budget to carry out the programmes
in question. This page answers frequently asked questions about which
institution to contact and where to apply for a scholarship.
Arab / German Cultural
Exchanges
IFA (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen)
This institute located in Stuttgart is
meant to promote dialogue with the non-european world by organizing
dialogue forums, conferences and exhibitions, as well as by publishing
reports on specialised topics. Actually the IFA FORUM "DIALOGUE AND
MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING"
The ifa forum "Dialogue
and Mutual Understanding" aims at giving an impetus for the European
Islamic intercultural dialogue. With its activities the project wants
to stimulate the participation and additional measures of other parties
and to connect different levels of activity and dialogue.
The ifa forum "Dialogue and Mutual Understanding" is a project within
the framework of the German Foreign Office Special Program on
"European-Islamic Cultural Dialogue"
Specialised Press
Qantara.de
: Dialogue with the islamic world
The Arabic word "qantara" means "bridge".
The Internet portal Qantara.de represents the concerted effort of the
Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Federal Center for
Political Education), Deutsche Welle, the Goethe Institut and the
Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (Institute for Foreign Relations)
to promote dialogue with the Islamic world. The project is funded by
the German Foreign Office. You can subscribe to the monthly Newsletter
from Qantara's homepage.
Deutschland
The journal "Deutschland" provides a
thorough and sound overview of the relevant political, economic and
cultural developments in the Federal Republic of Germany every two
months. It is published in 14 languages, comprising English and Arabic.
Members Companies
List to be continued
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