Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed meets Germany's foreign minister

UAE foreign minister is in Germany on an official visit

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, met his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Berlin on Wednesday. Images: Wam

The ministers discussed the strategic relationship between the two countries and ways of enhancing ties.

Ms Baerbock extended her condolences over the death of Sheikh Khalifa and wished the UAE further growth and prosperity under the leadership of President Sheikh Mohamed.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, on Wednesday met his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Berlin.

The ministers discussed the strategic relationship between the two countries and ways of enhancing ties.

They also spoke about regional and international developments, including the crisis in Ukraine, and the importance of strengthening efforts to reach a political solution to avoid prolonging the conflict.

The pair reviewed issues of common interest, including the stability of future global energy and food security as well as prevailing market conditions.

Ms Baerbock extended her condolences over the death of Sheikh Khalifa and wished the UAE further growth and prosperity under the leadership of President Sheikh Mohamed.

She praised the strategic ties between Germany and the Emirates and the keenness to grow co-operation in all sectors.

Sheikh Abdullah thanked Ms Baerbock for her message of condolences and said there are plenty of promising opportunities to grow UAE-German relations in various fields.

The meeting was attended by Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, and Hafsa Al Ulama, UAE ambassador to Germany.

The UAE is Germany’s biggest trading partner in the Middle East, on par with Saudi Arabia.

Trade between the two countries has consistently grown in the past 25 years.

UAE exports to Germany rose to $1.1 billion in 2020 from $125 million in 1995 at an annualised rate of about 9.2 per cent, figures compiled by the Observatory of Economic Complexity show.

The main exports were raw aluminium ($338m), aircraft parts ($84.5m) and spark-ignition engines ($84.3m).

German exports to the UAE during the same period increased to $7.8bn in 2020 from $1.4bn in 1995 at a rate of about 7 per cent, with planes, helicopters and spacecraft ($1.35bn), cars ($762 million) and packaged medicines ($354m) as the main products, the observatory said.