After meeting with the Saudi crown prince on Saturday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz travelled to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday.
Scholz said he had made progress in negotiations in Abu Dhabi to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Gulf state.
According to the chancellor, a “whole range” of projects are already in the works.
Additionally, he highlighted that Germany must rely on a diversity of energy sources and that depending just on one source “will surely not happen again.”
Later on Sunday, Scholz is expected to make a pit break in Qatar, the contentious nation that is hosting the soccer World Cup this year.
A sizable delegation of German business executives, whose companies are particularly susceptible to gas shortages this winter, is accompanying Scholz.
Germany is also searching for supplies of green hydrogen, which it may be able to obtain from the Gulf, that is created using sustainable energy sources.
Scholz stressed the significance of protecting Germany’s energy supply and upholding human rights during his visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is suspected of being responsible for the gruesome killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi.
The visit of the German leader comes as the nation looks for other energy sources after promising to reduce its reliance on Russian gas.
Berlin purchased almost 55% of its gas from Moscow before the war with Ukraine, and it had plans to establish the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the North Sea for even more direct access to Russian energy supplies.
Deliveries from Russia, meanwhile, have almost ceased, contributing to soaring energy prices and pushing the German government to acquire Uniper, the nation’s largest energy supplier.
