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Minister of State Annen to visit the Arabian Peninsula
Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office Niels Annen will set off on a trip to the Gulf region today (30 October), with stops in Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. The trip will focus on bilateral issues as well as regional challenges such as Afghanistan and Yemen.
In Qatar, the Minister of State’s itinerary will include political consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he will pay tribute to Qatar’s supporting role in the evacuation of Germans and Afghans to Germany. The talks will additionally cover future approaches to dealing with the Taliban leadership, other political and economic issues affecting the region, and bilateral matters. The Minister of State will also discuss the human rights and workers’ rights situation in Qatar with both the government and the International Labour Organization.
In Kuwait, various political talks will likewise be dominated by a range of regional issues. Moreover, this visit will be an opportunity to congratulate Kuwait on the sixtieth anniversary of its independence and thank the country for the role that it plays within the Gulf Cooperation Council as a mediator and bridge-builder.
Minister of State Annen will then travel on to the United Arab Emirates, where he will hold talks with the government on matters including the Emirates’ role in East Africa, in Yemen and in the region. He will also discuss the development of the bilateral strategic partnership, human rights and workers’ issues. Alongside these talks, his itinerary will include a visit to Expo 2020 Dubai, where Germany has two pavilions.
The final stop on his trip will be Oman, where he will focus on bilateral issues and in particular, once again, on Yemen. Oman is working hard to bring about a peaceful resolution to the conflict and progress in the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement. It has thus been possible to bring together the various parties to the conflict for talks in Oman on a number of occasions.
Before his departure, Minister of State Annen issued the following statement:
Germany and Europe have a significant interest in the stability of the Gulf region. With the recent agreement to deepen relations between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council, we are adopting an approach of cooperation not only in security matters but also in the transformation that will take us away from an oil-based economy towards societies powered by renewable energy and green hydrogen. We also encourage our Gulf partners to play a constructive role in the Middle East peace process, in the Yemen conflict, in the Maghreb and in East Africa and to continue their significant contributions to the United Nations’ humanitarian assistance funds.