German parliamentary team visits key Saudi institutions

Vice President of the German Parliament Claudia Roth held talks with Mohammed Al-Jiffri, Shoura Council vice president, and other Shoura members during her three-day visit to the Kingdom from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1.
Roth and her delegation were in Jeddah where visits to the King Abdallah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) and to the King Abdallah Economic City (KAEC) were on the program. “The visit underlined once again the excellent quality of the bilateral relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said Michael Ohnmacht, German Embassy spokesperson.
He added: “We are witnessing a period of intensified exchange and visits between the parliamentarians of the two countries,” Ohnmacht said, adding that next week a Shoura delegation will also visit Germany.
Leading a delegation which included MP Matthias Zimmer from the Christian Democratic Party, Roth also met with Ahmad Omar Al-Zailai, president of the German-Saudi Friendship Group of the Shoura Council.
Ohnmacht added that the program also included visits to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economy and Planning, the High Commission of Entertainment and various organizations. “These organizations included the National Society of Human Rights, the National Dialogue Center, the Human Rights Commission, among others,” the spokesman said.
He added that Roth “takes a special interest in the situation of women in Saudi Arabia and had talks with representatives of the Al-Nahda Charitable Society."
“She also had a meeting with businesswomen at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) where there were lively discussions about the recent achievements and future challenges,” he said.
He added that “at the Princess Nourah University, the largest women’s university in the world, she met with students and academics, and could visit the very modern pediatric and maternity hospital which is scheduled to open soon.”
Her visit in the Saudi capital was concluded by the opening of the Goethe Institute (GI) in Umm Al Hammam.
During the ceremony, Roth encouraged more Saudis to take advantage of the German language classes offered by the Goethe Institute, and expressed her hopes that it will act as a bridge-builder between the cultures and societies of the two countries.
The ceremony was attended by German Ambassador Dieter W. Haller and Goethe Institute Vice Secretary General Bruno Grosf.

Source: Arab News