afp/dpa/epd | Chancellor Friedrich Merz is committed to growing economic ties with the Gulf states. The CDU politician said this in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, the third stop on his trip to the Gulf region. Merz had previously also had Qatar and Saudi Arabia visited.
“Germany has a very high reputation here, also because we are a good investment location,” said Merz. This is now also reflected in the numbers. The Chancellor continued that he was surprised by “the sharp increase in investment figures, but also such a significant increase in orders in many companies.” The development encourages him to push forward reforms for investment conditions and conditions for jobs in Germany.
Germany is expected to take a fair amount of leadership in the European Union, said Merz. During his talks, he said that he wanted to fulfill this expectation together with his EU partners. He added: “And what is sought above all in a world of great uncertainty is reliability and stability, including in bilateral relations.” He could offer that. “We are a country that is reliable. We are a country that is willing to work more closely together on foreign economic policy, including a possible trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates.” Discussions about this are taking place these days.
RWE agrees future LNG deliveries from Emirates
The Essen-based energy company RWE has now concluded an agreement with the state oil company Adnoc from the United Arab Emirates for the possible delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The aim is to deliver up to one million tons of LNG per year over a period of up to ten years, RWE explained on Friday. The agreement was signed during the visit of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) to Abu Dhabi.
“I am very pleased about our strategic collaboration with Adnoc, which underlines our shared commitment to securing Europe’s energy supply,” said RWE boss Markus Krebber. “By concluding new LNG supply contracts, we are strengthening the security of supply for Germany.” In the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday, the Chancellor said that the current volume of LNG of two million tons per year that Germany purchases from Qatar should be further increased. In Abu Dhabi, the Chancellor visited an Adnoc company location on Friday. On site he spoke of “encouraging signals” for the German economy. In addition to energy supplies It is also about orders from the Gulf region for German companies and investments from wealthy oil countries in Germany.
According to the group, RWE signed an agreement of intent in Abu Dhabi with the state-owned company Masdar, which specializes in renewable energies, about possible investments in RWE large-scale battery storage in Germany. Masdar is also involved in large-scale projects in the areas of wind and solar energy, in this way the Emirates are seeking to balance their massive output of fossil energy.
Peace groups criticize arms cooperation with Gulf states
An action alliance made up of peace groups, aid organizations and church associations has criticized the arms cooperation announced by Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) during his trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Facilitating arms exports to such countries is “a serious mistake,” explained Jürgen Grässlin, spokesman for “Aktion Aufschrei – Stop the arms trade!” according to the Peace Cooperative Network on Friday in Bonn. He referred to serious human rights violations, armed conflicts with neighboring countries and the proliferation of weapons to other conflict regions.
“The signal sent by this Chancellor’s trip is the wrong one,” added Vincenzo Petracca, a member of the Action Group Service for Peace (AGDF). “It does not point in the direction of peace, stability and security, but rather in the direction of military escalation and turning a blind eye to serious human rights violations.” In view of an increasingly confrontational global political situation, a restrictive arms export policy is more than necessary.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz had promised closer arms cooperation to important partners in the Gulf region. “This is in our mutual interest because we want to ensure that the world becomes safer. And it will only become safer if we also defend ourselves,” said Merz during his visit to Qatar.
If the federal government sees “reliable cooperation partners” like in Qatar or the day before in Saudi Arabia, then these countries could join forces more intensive arms cooperation than in previous years. “But that doesn’t mean that we are now supplying all military equipment to all countries in a completely uncontrolled manner. It remains a case-by-case assessment.” There was already an easing last summer, said Merz. He pointed out that the federal government had cleared the way for the export of more Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia.