IBBC’s Member Representative in Iraq Rasmi Al Jabri and COO Christophe Michels attended the 19^th Arab-German Business Forum at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Berlin on 26 and 27 May 2016. They were invited to attend the forum by Abdulaziz Al-Mikhlafi, the Secretary General of the Ghorfa Arab-German Chamber of Commerce, which hosted the event. IBBC members Mr Dara Al Khayat, Chairman of the Erbil Chamber of Commerce, and Mr Zuhair Sharba, Chairman of Najaf Chamber of Commerce, were also in attendance.

More than 600 experts and decision makers from the business, political and science sectors attended the conference, which was held under the patronage of H.E. Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy. Topics addressed during the forum included current and prospective Arab-German collaborations in an array of fields from financial services to infrastructure mega projects, as well as female entrepreneurs, investment in the UAE, start-ups and SMEs.

Mr Al Jabri and Christophe met a large delegation from the National Investment Commission of Iraq during the forum, as well as the Iraqi Ambassador to Germany, Mr Hussain Mahmood Fadhlalla Alkhateeb; the Head of OECD’s Iraq Project, Dr Klaus Hachmeier; and representatives from numerous German businesses that operate internationally. As the United Arab Emirates was partner country of this year’s forum, they also had the opportunity to meet a number of UAE officials discuss IBBC’s upcoming Autumn Conference, which is scheduled to be held in Dubai on 6 November.