What reputation do we have in the Middle East? How to succeed in local markets? And how does a European live there? These and many other questions were answered by Martin Dvořák, the Czech Ambassador to Kuwait and Qatar.
How would you evaluate the current level of relations between Czechia and Kuwait / Qatar?
Relations with both countries are currently very good, friendly and completely conflict-free. On the other hand, we would certainly like to slightly increase the scope of mutual trade and more frequent bilateral contacts. For example, the last Kuwait Foreign Minister to visit Czechia was the current Emir of Sabah Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in 1995. However, we managed to have our Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček visit Qatar last October. Unfortunately, his next prepared trip to Kuwait has been cancelled for coronavirus, as well as a number of other events that we had already prepared for this year. We believe that everything will return to normal soon. Then our discussions on the reciprocal opening of embassies in Prague and Doha will certainly resume. This, of course, would help a lot in developing relations with Qatar, and I have been striving for this with my Qatar colleagues in Berlin since I joined as the Ambassador.
To my knowledge, Czechia has not yet made any major investments in Kuwait and Qatar. Why is that?
Probably because these countries until recently had little to do with investors, and if so, they were investors from the US, Asia, or major European economies like Britain or Germany. Although the situation in recent years has dramatically changed in this respect, the Czech investors who come here, with a certain delay, mostly find these destinations still to be exotic and unexplored, and they are just getting to know them. Of course, our Embassy supports the activities of Czech investors in this area. Recently, we have been at negotiations on the supply of technologies from the production of Czech companies for transport, infrastructure, defence and other important areas, which could be accompanied by Czech investments. One of the reasons for our small economic presence in the Gulf has so far been the fact that it was much easier for Czech companies to focus on business in the vicinity, especially in the EU, where we are familiar with the standardised conditions. However, the development of the coronavirus-related situation may fundamentally change this.
What economic sectors of Kuwait and Qatar do you see as the greatest potential for Czech exporters and investors?
As I have already indicated, we are trying to take advantage of the long-term strategic plans of both countries to offer what is growing in demand - advanced technologies, high-value-added products and unique and original technological solutions. For example, last year we managed to open market access for manufacturers of fire-fighting and extinguishing technologies, there is a very specific demand for high-performance radar, turbines and generators for power plants. We presented a unique patent for mining, respectively mining of heavy oil deposits and so on. There are also interesting opportunities for cooperation in the field of ecology and environmental technologies or in the field of science and research. In this sense, we count a lot on the cooperation with the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), which is similar to our Academy of Sciences and is very interested in cooperation.
What are the main obstacles for the penetration of Czech exporters and investors into Kuwaiti and Qatari markets? How does the Embassy help them in this respect?
There is a lot of competition for a relatively small market, which is also different, more distant and complicated than the markets we have. So far, our companies probably do not want much of these complications, but that may change now. Cooperation with a local company or with large partners from other countries who are already on the market seems to be a good way to enter the Kuwait market. Our embassy is trying to do the usual "door opening". Over the past two years, we have managed to organize three business forums in Kuwait and Qatar, a specialized incoming mission to Czechia, a sector presentation of a number of companies in the field of fire safety and defence and security technologies to relevant Kuwaiti partners, an audience for Czech companies in order to supply technologies for a new airport, presentation of one very specialized company in the field of musical instrument production ... We also publish articles for potential market entrants in professional media, we organize lectures and presentations about the qualities of the Czech Republic or EU as a business partner, we also participate in information seminars and workshops in Czechia, organized by the Czech Chamber of Commerce or the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic. As you see, there are plenty of things we do to help.
What are the biggest mistakes made by European exporters and investors trying to penetrate the Kuwait and Qatar markets?
I think the most difficult thing is to understand and accept the local rules and customs. Emails don't work, letters don't work, phones don't work, you just have to go personally to this area, meet a lot of people, not once, but repeatedly, not jumping the gun and acting in the European or Western style "take it now and start no later than tomorrow ". Here, business relationships build on trust and personal acquaintance. Everyone in the industry knows each other, doing business together or side by side for many years, and look at anyone who comes from elsewhere with disbelief. The other side of the coin is that from time to time, a “hot water trader” turns up, pretending s/he has mastered the whole complex business here, s/he is friends with everyone and hangs out with the emir every other day. Recognizing them at first glance is also not quite easy, and so perhaps many foreign entrepreneurs or traders initially stray into such an impasse. They try it sometimes even at our embassy. So, I know what I'm talking about.
Can a Czech, a Central European, have fun in Kuwait in the way s/he is used to from home? How do you spend your free time there? And what do you miss most from Czechia when living in the desert?
Well, for example, you cannot go for a beer. Restaurants and hotels in Kuwait and in Qatar, with few exceptions, serve no alcohol. The same is true for pork and products made of it. Ham, sausages and bacon can only be obtained in a modified form, i.e. without the proportion of pork. You will also rarely find live music. In general, there is a slightly different structure of cultural life offer, which of course is based on local traditions and customs. For example, as a big fan of theatre, it is difficult for me to find something attractive in this area. On the other hand, Qatar in particular has recently been trying to adapt the offer a little more to foreigners from the West. Yet, you can live with all this, there are many other things to do. You will find all kinds of sports, from tennis courts, golf and shooting range to bowling, but also ice-skating rinks. By the way, the national hockey team of Kuwait is led by a Czech coach! There are nice beaches, sports clubs, physiotherapy ... The services we are used to from home work very well, from dry cleaners, dressmakers’, shopping and general online shops to banking services and of course shopping of the highest quality goods and good service.
Is there anything that impresses you with Kuwait and Qatar culture?
There's a lot! Perhaps the first thing I can think of is the great strength and cohesion of the family. Moreover, the local family set up has a slightly different dimension than what we know from home. Family dinners cannot do without some twenty or thirty relatives, moreover, families often live very close to each other, parents build a children's house next to their own, then comes the third generation ... The Muslim community actually works a bit like a family. They will never let anyone fall. Here, too, somebody spends money, falls into debt and then goes bankrupt, but you never see beggars or homeless people in the streets, as the community always takes care of those who have fallen through the net. And they also respect the ancestors and generally traditions and customs, which is something we miss in the West, in my opinion ...
Could you compare the diplomatic culture of Arab and Western countries?
I don’t dare talk generally about Arabic or Western diplomatic culture when I served in only one Western and one Arab country, but from my little experience I would say that the Kuwaitis and the Qatari really care more about the protocol and the formal side, while Americans don't consider the form so much, as they pursue a goal in ways you won't find elsewhere in diplomacy. They are used to showing and using their power. Arabs will never do that. In the Arab world, you also have to pay more attention to the information and messages provided between lines, indirectly. Americans are often more willing to communicate unpleasant news clearly and without great ado. The Arab partner will always be polite, never rejecting you directly. I have to say that each of these approaches has something to it for me.
Martin Dvořák
#Born on 11th November 1956 in Prague, graduated from the University of Economics in Prague.
After school, he worked as an economist in the East Bohemian Meat Industry, was reassigned to the Technical Department for disagreements with the Communist regime, and later worked in production.
In the municipal elections of 1990 and 1994 he was elected Mayor of Hradec Králové.
Between 1999 and 2002, he participated in the United Nations Administrative Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), where he served as administrator of Istog and Gyakovä for 28 months.
Since July 2003, he worked in Iraq as an expert of the Transitional Coalition Administration.
From January 2005 to August 2009, he served as a commercial counsellor at the Embassy in Washington.
In 2009 he was appointed Director of the Department of Bilateral Economic Relations and Export Support at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. He remained in this position until August 2012, when he was appointed Consul General in the USA.
Since September 2017 he’s been the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Kuwait and Qatar.
Speaks English, Russian and German, partly Polish.
He is married, has daughters Dora and Alžběta and son Adam. He likes theatre, music, literature and sports.
Trade Balance
Trade between Czechia and Kuwait and Qatar is basically about Czech exports, as there is very little export from Kuwait and Qatar to the Czech Republic. In 2018, the Czech Republic exported $ 85.43 million worth of goods to Kuwait, and we exported $ 95.58 million to Qatar in the same year. Mutual trade statistics are distorted by re-exports from Kuwait and Qatar to neighbouring countries in the region, in particular Iraq and Iran, accounting for an estimate of 10-30% of our exports to these countries.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic / Embassy of the Czech Republic in Kuwait
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