State Secretary Samson introduces the Hessen correspondent to Buenos Aires

Companies from Hessen that are looking for more information about business potentials in South America or specifically seeking to establish a presence in the region now have an official contact partner from the Hessen state government available in Buenos Aires. At a welcome reception in the Argentine capital organized by Hessen’s Ministry of Economics and the German embassy, State Secretary Mathias Samson introduced Federico Thielemann, the new correspondent for Hessen business promotion and development.

The task of this representative office is to support companies from Hessen on their path to Argentina as well as to provide Argentine companies with an interest in Germany with information about the advantages of working with business partners in Hessen. In the future, for example, networking events on topics such as Industry 4.0, digitalization and logistics will be offered. With the new “Hessen Round Table” in Buenos Aires, there will also be additional opportunities for representatives from Hessen’s business community to meet with Argentine entrepreneurs.

With the aim of improving the mutual exchange of information, the new representative office will initiate a correspondent newsletter and further publications. Another area of engagement will include participation at trade fairs in Argentina and in Germany. “Our goal is to support direct business contacts between Hessen and Argentina, with a particular focus on the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises,” points out Mathias Samson.

“We are very glad that Federico Thielemann has accepted this new role. With him, we have found an experienced expert in German-Argentine economic relations for Hessen,” notes Samson.

Thielemann was born in Buenos Aires in 1974. He attended the Goethe School in the Argentine capital and went on to study business management at the University of Buenos Aires. After gaining some initial professional experience at Germany Trade & Invest, Thielemann took up a position at the German-Argentine Chamber of Industry and Commerce, where he entered the department for foreign trade, environment, renewable energies and innovation. Since 2012, Thielemann has been the deputy chief executive officer of the German Foreign Trade Office in Argentina. He will fulfill his new role as correspondent alongside his professional functions.

Argentina is currently showing a trend towards positive economic growth. The trade volume between Hessen and Argentina amounted to 158 million euro in the year 2016. The development of bilateral trade between the two has been stable. Hessen primarily supplies Argentina with chemical and pharmaceutical products, automobiles and vendor parts, and precision mechanics. At the same time, companies in Hessen mainly source vehicle and automotive parts as well as food and leather products from enterprises in Argentina.

Visiting Argentina in mid-November 2017 under the leadership of State Secretary Mathias Samson, the delegation included representatives from eleven companies in the areas of digital economy and industrial technologies as well as four deputies from the Hessen State Parliament.