German Chancellor, Saudi CP hold talks
RIYADH: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived on Saturday in Saudi Arabia at the start of a two-day Gulf tour, in the hope of sealing new energy deals with the fossil fuel exporters.
Scholz, accompanied by a sizeable industry delegation, was received at Jeddah airport on the Red Sea coast by Makkah region’s governor Prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud.
Aterwards, he went into a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
Photos released by the kingdom’s official news agency showed the two men greeting each other with a hearty handshake and smiles before siting down for talks beneath a large portrait of King Salman.
He is also scheduled to meet a group of Saudi women.
The chancellor hopes to agree new energy partnerships with the oil- and gas-rich Gulf states, with the loss of supplies from Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.
Saudi Arabia’s importance as a fossil fuels exporter and regional power meant a “solid working relationship” was needed with the crown prince, a government source explained.
The 37-year-old Prince Mohammed was likely to steer the country through “the next 10, 20 or 30 years”, he added.
Berlin wants to extend cooperation on new technologies such as green hydrogen produced using renewable energy, which Germany could import in vast quantities from the Gulf states, said government sources.
The chancellor would also seek to strengthen political cooperation with the regional powers, courted on the other side by Russia and China.
“We have to work with Saudi Arabia if we want to sort out, for example, the question of the war in Yemen or tackle the Iranian question,” the government source said.
“Of course, this trip is being closely watched and we’re going to encounter difficult partners there,” one German official said. “And yet we can’t refuse to have such meetings and such cooperation.”
“In a world with 193 countries and big differences, it’s not just the German chancellor but many other leaders too who are seeking out talks at the moment and trying to forge new alliances and strengthen old ties,” said the official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name on the trip.