Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she expected cooperation with Qatar in the energy sector to grow in the years ahead, saying progress was already being made in the area of liquefied natural gas (LNG). “I believe that we will have closer cooperation in the energy sector in the years to come,” she said on Wednesday at a joint news conference with visiting Qatari ruler Emir Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. “First steps have been taken in the area of LNG. As for cooperation with EU member-states, Qatar will surely play a more important role in the years ahead.”