Third “Arab European Dialogue”
in Berlin on November 23-24, 2007

Berlin, Germany, November 22, 2007

At the third “Arab European Dialogue”, more than 40 executives of the organization Young Arab Leaders (YAL) will meet in Berlin with politicians and top managers from all over Europe on November 23 and 24. This annual forum is the most important element of the cooperation between YAL and Daimler, along with the student program “Arab European Internship Exchange Program” and the “Daimler Top Talent Camp” targeted at young managers from the Arab region. “Strengthening partnerships between the Middle East and Europe is the most effective way to overcome cultural and political barriers – and to create more trade, higher levels of understanding, and greater opportunity and prosperity for everyone”, stated Dr. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG, who opened the conference together with Prince Faisal Ibn Al Hussein of Jordan and the Head of the Federal Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Tasks, Thomas de Maizière. The main topics for discussion this year are Business and Innovation, Science and Technology, and Social Responsibility.

This cooperation between Daimler and the YAL started in 2005 and has the goal of promoting dialogue between Europe and the Arab region. One event offered is the “Arab European Internship Exchange Program” for students. This year, Daimler offered three to six-month student internships in the areas of sales/marketing, finance/controlling, information/technology, purchasing/logistics and after sales. The participants in this training program – three female and seven male students – came from the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon and even Palestine. They were between 18 and 22 years of age, and students of economics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, information technology and business administration. When selecting the participants, YAL and Daimler placed particular value on motivation, intercultural competence and team skills.

The “Daimler Top Talent Camp” is a program for young managers from the Arab region between 23 and 30 years of age. This learning and experience program with seminars and virtual learning programs brings together young Arab managers with young managers from within the Group. 25 persons took part this year, with the aim of promoting their understanding of intercultural collaboration and a multinational environment. Daimler and YAL also provide scholarships.

YAL was founded in 2004 on the occasion of the World Economic Forum and is represented in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi-Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Morocco and Qatar. The objective of YAL is to create an environment conducive to promoting the further development of future leading personalities in all areas of the Arab world. In this context, as a bridgehead between European companies and YAL, Daimler makes an important contribution to improving the know-how transfer and networking between the Western world and the Arab world.