Qatari Delegation of Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government Communications Office and Startup Qatar in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia

The German Mittelstand GCC Office (BVMW), in close cooperation with NRW.Global Business, organised the visit of a high-level Qatari officials to Düsseldorf, capital of the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, on 15–16 September 2026. The visit aimed to strengthen economic ties between the State of Qatar and North Rhine-Westphalia and to explore opportunities for closer cooperation and investment, particularly in the life sciences and deep-tech sectors.

The delegation was led by H.E. Saleh Alkhulaifi, Undersecretary for Industry and Business Development Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI). It further included Dr. Hamad Al Naimi, Chief Strategy Officer of Invest Qatar and Head of Startup Qatar; Mr. Soud Al Boinin, Director of Studies and Strategic Planning at the Government Communications Office (GCO); Mr. Hamad Al Nasr, Director of Trade Development at MOCI; and Mr. Nasser Ali Al Misned, Assistant Director at the Office of the Minister of State for Foreign Trade.

On the first day, the delegation was received by State Secretary Paul Höller at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia. It then met with Mr. Felix Neugart, Chief Executive Officer, and the Executive Team of NRW.Global Business. At the State Chancellery, the delegation held talks with State Secretary Christian Wiermer and Ms. Nora Müller, Head of Department for Europe and International Affairs.

The sector dialogue brought the delegation together with BIO.NRW, the biotechnology cluster of the State, and Cluster NMWP.NRW, representing nanotechnology, advanced materials and photonics. It also included ELEMENT 3-5 GmbH, a technology supplier of epitaxy and plasma systems for the compound semiconductor industry. The exchanges highlighted the strong complementarity between North Rhine-Westphalia's innovation landscape and Qatar's economic diversification agenda.

The visit concluded with the 1st Steering Committee Meeting 2026 between the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the BVMW GCC Office, convened together with its strategic partners Invest Qatar, the Government Communications Office and Startup Qatar. The meeting welcomed Dr. Hamad Al Naimi and Mr. Soud Al Boinin as new members of the Committee.

The German Mittelstand GCC Office extends its sincere gratitude to all partners in North Rhine-Westphalia for their gracious hospitality. It looks forward to translating this dialogue into concrete cooperation and investment between the State of Qatar and the Federal Republic of Germany.