Against the background of the energy cost crisis, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz embarks on a tour of the Gulf region with the aim of forging new energy partnerships. In fact, the leader arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for a 48-hour visit to three states, the Saudi public channel Al-Ekhbariya announced.
Accompanied by a large delegation from many economic sectors, he was received at the Jeddah airport, on the shores of the Red Sea, by the governor of the Mecca region, Prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud.
In Saudi Arabia, the second oil-producing country behind the United States, Olaf Scholz is due to meet on Saturday in particular with the Crown Prince and de facto leader of the Kingdom, Mohammed bin Salman, known as “MBS”. He, too, is due to meet with a group of Saudi women, before traveling to the United Arab Emirates on Saturday night and then to Qatar on Sunday.
Compensate for the drop in Russian gas deliveries
Like French President Emmanuel Macron or former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson before him, Olaf Scholz is making this trip in the midst of a race against time to find new suppliers to offset Russian gas deliveries that have nearly dried up.
This trip to the three countries, “important regional players”, could thus result in the signing of contracts, in particular in the Emirates, for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Amnesty International has criticized the German chancellor’s trip to Saudi Arabia and in particular her meeting with “MBS”, criticized on the international scene after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey in 2018.
Angela Merkel’s successor should, her entourage assures, raise the issue of human rights and the status of women with the Saudi prince. He will be received in turn on Sunday by the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed ben Zayed al-Nahyan, and then by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim ben Hamad Al-Thani.
Source: BFM TV
