German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has set his sights on the Middle East to try and diversify energy supplies for Europe’s biggest economy and reduce dependency on LNG imports from the US. Merz and a delegation of corporate leaders will leave Wednesday for Riyadh, where he’s scheduled to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler. On Thursday, he’ll move on to Qatar and United Arab Emirates, before returning to Berlin Friday evening.
“High dependency is a problem in view of the authoritarian development of the US government and the risk of geopolitical blackmailGermany “should also consider alternatives such as more pipeline gas from Norway and LNG from Canada or Australia,” said Susanne Nies, an energy expert at think tank Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. Merz’s three-day trip, his first visit to the Gulf region as chancellor, is part of Germany’s strategy to diversify its energy imports globally and find new markets for industrial exports.
