Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al-Saud, Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, in Jeddah on Monday
Image: dpa
Annalena Baerbock is a guest at the Gulf. There she meets partners who have developed a self-confidence that speaks to the attitude: Europe may need them more than they need Europe.
MAnnalena Baerbock (Green Party) arrived late in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah on Monday. A technical defect had delayed the start of the German Foreign Minister, who had to change to a replacement aircraft with the delegation. Even before departure, Baerbock had found words that should at least ensure a good arrival in the Gulf. The voices of the leaders in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where Baerbock will be visiting in the coming days, have “enormous weight” in the current crises in the region, she explained. There was talk of “partners in the Gulf”. And of “encouraging them in their commitment to security in the region”.
The monarchies in the Gulf have not recently felt that they were Europe’s partners with whom one could talk about human rights issues while looking one another in the eye. There is distrust among the rulers, who at the same time have developed a self-confidence that suggests that Europe might need them more than they need Europe. In Qatar, since the 2022 World Cup, Germany has not been particularly friendly. Relations with Saudi Arabia, the first stop on the trip, where Baerbock arrived on Monday, had been broken for years.
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