Germany’s Scholz in Saudi Arabia on Gulf energy hunt

RIYADH: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday visited Saudi Arabia and held talks with its crown prince at the start of a two-day Gulf tour, in the hope of sealing new energy deals.

Scholz, accompanied by a sizeable industry delegation, flew in to Jeddah on the Red Sea where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, de facto ruler of the country. The German chancellor hopes to agree new energy partnerships with the oil- and gas-rich Gulf states, following the loss of supplies from Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.

Scholz’s meeting with Prince Mohammed was seen as sensitive because of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who was killed and dismembered in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in October 2018.

"We discussed all questions concerning human rights... Nothing that should have been said was omitted," Scholz told German reporters accompanying him as he flew out of Jeddah, after being asked if the Khashoggi case was raised. Until recently, Prince Mohammed was regarded as a pariah in the West due to the murder.

The German government strongly condemned the murder and, ahead of the tour, indicated it would not be "editing" its position.