1. Bilateral Economic Relations between Germany and the GCC countries

2. Germany’s trade with the GCC countries
Imports*
Exports*
Trade volume*
2014
2015 %
Jan.- June 2016
Jan.-June 2016
Jan.-
June 2016
UAE
748,1
894,0
19,5
457,0
-7,5
11.364,1
14.627,7
28,7
7.239,1
14,4
7.696,1
12,8
Saudi Arabia
1.105,1
870,9
-21,2
181,2
-60,2
8.879,8
9.972,2
12,3
3.850,4
-22,3
4.031,6
-25,5
Katar
678,3
388,2
-42,8
211,7
15,5
2.097,5
2.158,3
2,9
1.230,9
37,5
1.442,6
33,8
Kuwait
136,8
60,1
-55,7
13,8
113,7
1.422,2
1.302,9
-8,4
728,5
10,5
742,3
11,5
Oman
67,0
47,9
-28,4
21,4
-14,7
691,7
940,9
36,0
441,4
-0,1
462,7
-0,8
Bahrain
54,8
24,8
-54,8
14,8
19,2
374,0
417,5
11,6
160,1
-32,6
174,9
-30,0
*in m euro

3. Economic relations between Germany and the GCC countries
GCC countries are a very important market for Germany, yet highly competitive.
UAE are the front-runner for German exports in 2015
Saudi Arabia, the biggest national economy in the region, remains the second most important GCC trade partner for Germany.
German companies are mainly high tech subcontractors, EPC projects are essentially going to Korea, Japan and China as lump-sum turnkey contracts.

4. Economic challenges …
The economies of GCC countries remain highly dependent on oil and gas and are strongly affected by the sinking oil price.
GCC countries try to diversify their national economies.
Private sector does not yet play the role it should have.
Bureaucracy and tendering procedures (which do not always meet our transparency expectations).

5. … and how to meet them
Saudi Arabia deepens the value-added chain by processing oil in the petrochemical industry to compensate the loss of profits due to the fluctuant oil price.
As of 2018, the GCC countries collect VAT (3-5 %), moreover the collection of corporate or tobacco tax is discussed in order to stabilize national budgets.
Due to the rapid growth of the population, great possibilities for cooperation in the fields of education and health care.
Improvement of employability and esteem of the private sector to create jobs.
Cooperation in the fields of infrastructure and renewable energy (e.g., railway projects; IRENA).