On 20 June 2019, the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (GZS) and the German-Slovene Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHK Slovenia / Slovensko-nemška gospodarska zbornica) signed the Memorandum of Understanding, the agreement on mutual cooperation between DIHK, GZS, and AHK Slovenia, at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia.
The Memorandum serves as the base for closer cooperation between Slovene and German chambers of commerce, and likewise supports Slovene companies in finding new business opportunities out of 3.6 million German companies.
The Memorandum, which was signed by Dr. Volker Treier, Chief Executive of Foreign Trade and Member of the Executive Board of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), Gertrud Rantzen, Chairwoman of the German-Slovene Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHK Slovenia), and Boštjan Gorjup, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (GZS), further longs for establishing and developing business relations between Germany and Slovenia, with the help of the network of German and Slovene chambers of commerce in both countries as well as other third countries.
This support is provided by AHK Slovenia as the first contact and intermediary point of German companies. In this regard, AHK Slovenia gets supported by the DIHK network and further 79 regional chambers of commerce (IHK) in Germany.
At the beginning, Boštjan Gorjup, President of GZS, emphasized the geographical small size of the country, however likewise the strong export orientation of Slovene economy. »Due to demographical change and macroeconomic conditions, a further increase in added value is necessary”, he claimed clearly, referring to the objectives until 2025, recorded in the Development Partnership of three generations – exports of 50 billion euros and increase in added value per employee by around 30% (to 60,000 euros per employee).
On the one hand, he views today’s signing of the Memorandum between DIHK, AHK Slovenia and GZS as a step of the Slovene economy towards new markets, while opening new business opportunities. On the other hand, Slovenia will now have the chance to offer numerous good solutions in the field of smart specialization and digitalization.
According to the Chairwoman of the AHK Slovenia, Gertrud Rantzen, the Memorandum is an important milestone of the economic cooperation between Slovenia and Germany. “Germany is the most important business partner of Slovenia and the German-Slovene business relations continue to follow a positive trend. The turnover of nearly 12 billion euros is influenced by the high level of exports of Slovene companies to Germany, which is why it is not surprising that Slovene companies have an exceptional interest in gaining access to the global network.”
At the signing, Dr. Volker Treier, Chief Executive for Foreign Trade at DIHK, highlighted the importance of working in the way of “win-win” (victory for all), where the common dominator is cooperation: “GZS and AHK Slovenia will continue working hand in hand to establish contacts between interested Slovene companies and the AHK network. Both sides will benefit from the activity of the German AHK network as a reliable partner for Slovene companies in their internationalization projects on third markets.
The comprehensive range of services offered by the AHKs ranges from the search for business partners to the preparation of market studies and specific individualized services for companies.”
Within the framework of the signed Memorandum, the Chambers will cooperate in order to support Slovene companies in their market activities on foreign markets. To this end, they have a worldwide network of German chambers of commerce abroad, Delegations and Representatives of the German economy, called AHK. DIHK operates as an umbrella organization on behalf of the bilateral German Chambers of Commerce and Industry abroad.
Source/Photo: Promo