The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Kuwait, Hans-Christian Freiherr von Reibnitz, stressed upon his country’s keenness to strengthen bilateral relations with Kuwait in various fields.
Furthermore, the Ambassador revealed that work is currently underway to prepare a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of security cooperation with Kuwait, which will be signed soon.
This came on the sidelines of the promotional exhibition held by the German National Tourist Office for the Gulf States – Dubai – yesterday.
Hans-Christian stressed that Germany is a favorite tourist destination for many, pointing out that the number of visitors from Kuwait to his country has doubled in tourism, treatment, investment, and other purposes too.
Moreover, he revealed that the consular section issued more than 40,000 visas during 2023, expecting to reach the same number this year also.
The German Ambassador touched upon the academic cooperation between the two countries, but there is some reluctance among students to study in Germany, perhaps because of the German language that is required to be mastered before going to study, he stated.
This is despite the presence of courses for bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English for about 40% of specializations, indicating that he is currently working on bringing a number of German language teachers to Kuwait, hoping that the pace of cooperation between the two countries in this field will increase.
Hans-Christian stated that the study in his country depends mainly on practical and not theoretical, as students go to work in companies to gain practical experience, explaining that this is very necessary for Kuwait, if it wants to develop non-oil fields.
Health Cooperation
In this context, Hans-Christian spoke about the health cooperation between the two countries, noting that German clinics and the health sector, have had a good reputation since a long time.
In turn, the Marketing and Sales Manager at the German National Tourist Office for the Gulf Countries, Yamina Sofo, said that they work with their partners in specialized travel agencies to showcase the beauty of Germany’s tourist areas to travelers from Kuwait, noting that Germany has a lot to offer to Kuwaiti tourists, from archaeological and heritage sites, shopping malls and large hotels in all seasons of the year.
Disclosing statistics, Sofo announced that 1.3 million Gulf tourists visited Germany last year, which is an increase of 15%, compared to 2022.
