When Mohsin al Shukaili sat in the Bundestag gallery on September 9 to watch the Chancellor defend Germany’s 2027 budget, the Omani engineer was a long way from the oil and logistics world he works in at home. He was also, by his own account, in the right place.
Mohsin, 26, has just returned from a month in Berlin on the International Parliamentary Scholarship (IPS) Programme for Arab States 2026, which places participants in the office of a Bundestag member and gives them a close look at German democracy at work. He was selected after an interview at the German Embassy in Muscat.
“For me, the IPS programme was much more than a study visit,” he said. “It was an opportunity to engage directly with policymakers."
For Mohsin, the programme’s value lay in what it could mean for Oman. Sessions on Germany’s energy transition, its partnerships with the Middle East and North Africa, and green hydrogen struck him most.
“As an Omani, I found particular value in the discussions on cooperation between Germany and the Gulf region, especially in renewable energy and green hydrogen,” he said. Such topics, he added, feed into “the wider conversation about economic diversification, international partnerships and the future of energy in our region.”
He is careful not to overstate the comparison. “Although Germany and Oman have different political systems and institutional structures, learning from other countries’ experiences can provide valuable perspectives and encourage constructive exchanges of ideas,” he said. He hopes to apply “the knowledge, connections and insights” he gained “in my professional development and future contributions to Oman.”
He said he was proud to have “represented Oman in this international setting,” describing the trip as "an important personal and professional milestone.”
Placed with the office of Enrico Komning, an AfD lawmaker, attorney and the party group’s Parliamentary Managing Director, Mohsin helped prepare a parliamentary question on wind energy and assisted with a draft speech. He sat in on the group’s economic affairs and energy working group, a committee meeting and several plenary sittings, including questions to the government.
Enrico said the Omani visitor made the most of a short stay. “He was an exceptionally pleasant, motivated and intellectually curious participant,” he said, noting Mohsin’s “open-mindedness, his thoughtful questions and his genuine interest in understanding how our institutions operate in practice.”
What stood out, Enrico said, was that Mohsin came "not as a student, but as an established professional seeking to broaden his personal and intellectual horizons.”
Mohsin finished school in Oman, then studied petroleum engineering at Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria, graduating in 2023. The years there gave him fluent German, which he says let him talk to Berlin’s politicians “without a language barrier.” He joined ASYAD Group’s graduate programme and now works as a planning officer at its unit Mwasalat. He also presides over the ASYAD Group Toastmasters Club and regularly attends German and Austrian embassy events in Muscat.
In Berlin, he joined participants from Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Algeria for workshops on anti-corruption, press freedom, artificial intelligence and transitional justice, and visited Deutsche Welle’s Arabic newsroom.
Ines Dlih, a participant from Algeria, said the programme’s worth outlasts the visit. By bringing Arab participants together, she said, it builds “a foundation for informed engagement with political and societal issues,” with lessons applied to “the particular circumstances, priorities and traditions” of each home country.
Mohsin now eyes a career in diplomacy. Enrico sees him going far. “Talented and internationally experienced young professionals such as Mohsin can make an important contribution” to Oman’s future, he said, adding that Berlin would be “delighted to welcome him back.”
Photos by Franz von Winterfeld and German Bundestag
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