Merz courts Gulf as Germany seeks energy alternatives to US, China

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Doha on Thursday during the second leg of a Gulf tour that also includes Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Merz aims to deepen partnerships in Gulf business and energy as Germany seeks alternative supplies and looks to reduce its dependence on both China and the United States. 

The German leader was accompanied by a large business delegation that included top executives from Airbus SE, Deutsche Post DHL Group and Uniper SE. They were welcomed at Hamad International Airport by Qatari Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al-Thani, the Qatari state news agency reported on Thursday. 

Alongside Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Merz later co-chaired a German-Qatari business roundtable in Doha.

Qatar and Germany enjoy strong economic relations. According to the German Federal Foreign Office, German exports to Qatar amounted to about 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in 2023, while German imports to the Gulf country reached around 600 million euros that same year. The Qatari premier noted that Qatar has become one of the main foreign investors in Germany through the Qatar Investment Authority, Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. 

Energy, arms 

Berlin is seeking to capitalize on ties with Gulf energy giants as relations with the United States have cooled amid strains over transatlantic defense commitments, Washington’s pursuit of Greenland and tariffs. 

Merz’s stop in oil-rich Saudi Arabia on Wednesday marked his first visit to the kingdom since becoming chancellor last May. He is scheduled to travel to the United Arab Emirates later on Thursday.

Before departing for Riyadh, Merz told reporters that Gulf states could help Germany “diversify our oil and gas supply chains." In an apparent dig to Washington, he added, "Our partners may not all share the same values and interests, but they share the view that we need a world order in which we trust agreements and treat each other with respect."

In Riyadh, Merz met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler. 

Earlier on Sunday, German energy companies EnBW and VNG and Saudi renewables firm ACWA Power signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a corridor for the importation of green ammonia to be used in hydrogen energy projects in Germany. 

These deals build on an earlier Gulf-German agreement in 2022, when state-owned QatarEnergy signed a deal with the US energy giant ConocoPhillips to supply Germany with about 2 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas per year. The agreement is for 15 years and the first shipment is expected this year.

Germany remains highly dependent on US LNG and has begun exploring alternative sources as President Donald Trump has leveraged energy exports as a bargaining tool in tariff negotiations. According to the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, LNG accounted for roughly 10% of Germany’s total gas imports in 2025, about 96% of which originated in the United States. Prior to the war in Ukraine, 55% of German natural gas imports came from Russia. 

Germany also depends heavily on China for renewable energy technology. In 2022, about 87% of its photovoltaic systems were imported from Beijing, according to the German Federal Statistical Office, while more than 90% of permanent magnets used in wind turbines, electric vehicles and other industries came from China in 2024, according to data from the German Ministry of Economy.

On the defense front, Saudi Arabia has long expressed interest in acquiring Airbus A400M military transport aircraft, but Germany suspended arms exports to the kingdom following the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. The restrictions were partially eased in 2023. Merz said ahead of the visit that he would raise human rights concerns with the crown prince, though it remains unclear whether the issue was discussed.

Germany's geopolitical diversification push

As part of these diversification efforts, Merz visited India last month and oversaw numerous agreements and MoUs to deepen strategic, defense and economic ties, including a deal between German state-owned utility Uniper and India's AM Green to purchase up to 500,000 tons of renewable ammonia from India per year. 

Merz attended the G20 Summit in South Africa last November, announcing plans to expand economic cooperation with African countries, and traveled to Brazil the same month for the UN COP30. He is also expected to visit Beijing later this month. 

The chancellor's Gulf tour coincides with rising regional tensions and fears of a potential US military strike on Iran following the regime’s violent crackdown on anti-government protesters last month. Against this backdrop, Merz has repeatedly warned that the Islamic Republic’s days are numbered. Appealing to his hosts’ concerns on Thursday, he said, “In all my conversations yesterday and today, great concern has been expressed about a further escalation in the conflict with Iran,” and urged Tehran to enter talks with Washington.

Officials from Iran and the US are expected to meet in Muscat on Friday to discuss a nuclear deal as part of efforts to avert military confrontation.