HIE-RO seeks to boost business cooperation with Arab world

KUWAIT: Hanseatic Institute for Entrepreneurship and Regional Germany is moving up to unlock the potential of business cooperation with the Arab world. “There are many good reasons why we should continue to develop good relations between the Arab countries and ourselves,” said Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries in Mai 2017. However, she called for appropriate framework conditions for German exporters. North Africa and the Near and Middle East (MENA) are a very important export destination for German companies. Yet, in the last few years exports have considerably dropped in some of these countries.

Measures supporting business cooperation are one of the focal points necessary for unlocking the economic potential for local companies. Although the German cooperation with the Arab countries has a long tradition, companies from some regions, for example Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania still lack relevant links to the potential business partners in many Arab regions.

One activity of the Hanseatic Institute for Entrepreneurship and Regional Development at the University of Rostock (HIE-RO) is to implement actions towards strengthening an internationalization process of German small- and middle-sized enterprises (SMEs). The institute has been assigned to establish a cooperation structure of intermediary organizations as a framework for bridging companies from the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with potential business partners in the Arab countries.

First steps have been successfully undertaken and joint actions are under preparation; however, HIE-RO expresses its interest to start collaboration with further relevant partners to merge capacity and therefore create a strong platform for business-to-business cooperation. The main interest of the companies represented by the HIE-RO covers fields of innovation in the renewable energy sector, building construction, engineering, regional development, agriculture and biotechnology. Nevertheless other economic sectors are not excluded. Finding new cooperation partners is defined as a crucial step for better and more sustainable growth. Therefore, the HIE-RO is calling for institutions interested in future cooperation. The HIE-RO is a non-profit organization affiliated to the University of Rostock. It works as an intermediary institution between business, science and decision-makers.