Germany without energy seeks close agreements with Saudi Arabia
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday he wanted to deepen the energy partnership with Saudi Arabia after a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Scholz, accompanied by a large industrial delegation, was received at Jeddah airport, on the Red Sea coast, by the governor of the Mecca region, Prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Scholz said the partnership should go beyond fossil fuels to include hydrogen and renewable energy. One way to try to sell some German industry to offset the increased purchases of gas and oil.
Germany, which until recently depended heavily on Russia for gas, is now seeking to diversify its energy supply following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February. Too bad it is not very successful in finding alternative energy sources. Scholz, who is on a two-day trip to the Gulf, said he also addressed civil rights issues in talks with Salman, after German politicians urged him to do so in an article published Saturday in Der Spiegel.
Asked if the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi had been discussed, Scholz replied: "It can be assumed that nothing unspoken was left," according to Reuters. A way to say everything and say nothing. Khashoggi's killing in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul four years ago sparked global outrage and put pressure on Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler.
A US intelligence report released a year ago claimed that the prince had approved the operation to kill or capture Khashoggi. However, the Saudi government denied any involvement by the crown prince and rejected the report's findings. Scholz is also expected to meet a group of Saudi women before traveling to the UAE on Saturday night and then to Qatar on Sunday. Obviously he will not make any promises or make any specific commitments: energy is more important.
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The article Germany without energy seeks close agreements with Saudi Arabia comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-germania-senza-energia-cerca-accordi-stretti-con-larabia-saudita/ on Sun, 25 Sep 2022 06:00:18 +0000.