Engineering “Made in Germany” enjoys an outstanding image worldwide. Since decades renowned companies such as thyssenkrupp, BASF or Linde are already operating in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia successfully. As the third largest supplier to the Kingdom, some 800 German companies are operating in Saudi Arabia, many of them as key investors in leading sectors. To strengthen the economic ties between both countries the German-Saudi Arabian Liaison Office for Economic Affairs (GESALO) invited its partners to a press conference about ACHEMA – the World Forum of the process industry and chemical engineering – at the Marriott Hotel Riyadh on Thursday, November 30.
World Forum meets Saudi Vision 2030
During the conference, Dr. Thomas Scheuring, CEO of DECHEMA Ausstellungs-GmbH, gave an introduction about the leading trade show ACHEMA, which is showcasing innovations for the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries in Frankfurt/Main from 11 to 15 June 2018. Especially in the view of the National Transformation Plan 2020 and the Saudi Vision 2030, the extraordinary exhibition arouses a special interest for visitors from Saudi Arabia by focusing particularly on the energy turnaround, water treatment and innovative materials this year. “Many challenges, be they energy efficiency, shorter product cycles or novel materials for applications spanning vehicles to power stations, impact this sector worldwide,” explains Dr. Thomas Scheuring. The trade fair is taking place every three years and welcomed more than 167,000 participants and 3,800 exhibitors in 2015.
Furthermore, the Delegate of German Industry and Commerce for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen, Mr. Oliver Oehms put emphasizes on the willingness to extend the exchange between Germany and Saudi Arabia especially in the process industry. “Innovative process technologies are key drivers of competitive downstream industries. This makes ACHEMA an important platform for Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical industry – even more than in the past, considering the high ambitions manifested by the Vision 2030.”
High demand for German-Saudi joint ventures
Also, Mr. Philipp Schoenbrunn-Knappmann, Head of Economic Section at the German Embassy Riyadh, pointed out the significance of a constant German-Saudi interchange.
The demand was illustrated above all by the remarks of Mr. Asad Khan (Director of Research Jadwa Investment Company), Murad Alsaggaf (SPIMACO) and Dr. Faisal Al Dail (AJA Pharmaceutical Industries), who described the importance of innovative technologies for Saudi Arabia’s Pharmaceutical and Petrochemical Industry.
German process industry and Saudi Arabia’s ambitious future: ACHEMA 2018 promises once again not only a marketplace of the present but is also the innovation driver and know-how exchange platform of the future.