Riyadh: German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle will arrive in Riyadh today on the second leg of a four-nation tour that will also take him to Qatar and the UAE.

It is his first trip to Saudi Arabia since assuming office.

He arrived in Turkey on Wednesday on the first leg of the tour.

His GCC visit is primarily part of ongoing efforts to secure contracts for the multi-billion dollar railroad network that will link the six GCC states.

Westerwelle will hold wide-ranging talks with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Saud Al Faisal, tomorrow.

Co-operation

Their talks will focus on topics such as strengthening bilateral economic co-operation, fighting terrorism, promoting efforts to revive the Middle East peace process, security risks emanating from Iran's nuclear programme, recent armed infiltration by Al Houthi rebels into Saudi territory, and the threat posed by Al Qaida operatives in Yemen.

According to a source at the German embassy in Riyadh, Westerwelle will also hold talks with outgoing GCC Secretary General Abdul Rahman Al Attiyah.

The talks will focus mainly on enhancing cooperation between Germany and the GCC states, especially in the field of rail transport.

The GCC, in cooperation with the World Bank, is currently conducting economic feasibility studies to link the six countries with a multi-billion dollar rail network.

It is noteworthy that Qatar had signed a $25 billion rail project with Germany's state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn last November.

The contract was for building rail and underground lines in Qatar and Bahrain. For Qatar's capital Doha, Deutsche Bahn will design and build a four-line metro system with 98 stations.

Joint venture

A high-speed rail line to neighbouring Bahrain is also planned, in which the trains will reach speeds of 350km/h.

The project includes a joint venture between Qatari Diar, the real estate arm of the nation's sovereign wealth fund, with 51 per cent, and Deutsche Bahn, with 49 per cent.

Deutsche Bahn won a deal last year to help design a multi-billion rail network in Qatar.

The German minister's talks will focus on securing more rail projects in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Westerwelle will be accompanied by top ranking government officials, senior executives of major companies and business leaders, who are scouting investment opportunities. They include the president of Deutsche Bahn.

The German diplomat told Gulf News that Westerwelle, during his talks with Saudi leaders, will review the situation in the Middle East and discuss the ways to bring about a new start in the Middle East peace process, stalled for more than one year.

Saudi Arabia has been playing a vital role in reviving the peace process.

Westerwelle, during his visit to Israel and the West Bank in November, had urged Israelis and Palestinians to be ready for compromise to achieve lasting peace in the region.

He asked Israel to immediately put an end to construction of colonies in the occupied Palestinian territories.