Abu Dhabi: Angela Merkel arrived in the UAE on an official state visit on Monday, with the German Chancellor embarking on a regional tour to boost relations with Gulf countries and push for a free trade deal.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, received the German leader upon arrival in the UAE.
At the welcome ceremony, the German chancellor heard the national anthems of both Germany and UAE, followed by a twenty-one gun salute.
محمد بن زايد خلال استقباله المستشارة الألمانية ميركل لدى وصولها مطار الرئاسة بأبوظبي pic.twitter.com/tcQyX0nZCZ— أخبار محمد بن زايد (@MBZNews) May 1, 2017
A group of children from the German school in Abu Dhabi waved flags of the two countries greeting the country's guest.
The German Chancellor shook hands with her senior guests at the presidential airport, while Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed shook hands with senior officials accompanying Angela Merkel.
The meeting was also attended by Shaikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor, Dr Anwar Bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and Ali Bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Deputy Secretary General of the Supreme National Security Council.
Also attending are Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority and Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Ali Abdullah Al Ahmad, UAE Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, senior officials and a senior economic delegation.
The German delegation includes German Chancellor Steffen Saibert, Undersecretary of the Ministry of German Government Spokesman, Gütz Lingenthal, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Christoph Hoisgen, Adviser to the Chancellor for Foreign and Security Policy, and Professor Lars Hendrik Roler, Advisor to the Chancellor of Economic and Financial Policy.
Merkel arrived in the UAE after visiting Saudi Arabia. Her UAE visit was brief, with the German Chancellor leaving after a few hours.
Before her meeting with Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed on Monday, she had told reporters she hopes the European Union and the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries can finally complete a free trade agreement and that she would discuss the issue with Abu Dhabi's crown prince.
Germany, which relies on foreign trade for half its gross domestic product, fears that the protectionism backed by US.
US President Donald Trump and the fallout from Britain's vote to leave the EU posed global economic risks.
"The issue at hand is how to intensify the economic relations between the two regions," she said.
Merkel told reporters that the economic relations between the two regions needed to be strengthened.
"I made it clear that a free trade agreement with the Gulf states would be of great interest from a European point of view," Merkel said during her visit to Jeddah earlier on Sunday.
She noted that the EU had made a new offer for an agreement but that the GCC states had not yet responded. Merkel said she had talked to King Salman about the issue on Sunday evening.
Trade between the EU and GCC amounted to 138 billion euros in 2016, according to the EU. Exports from EU countries to the GCC were worth 100 billion euros and imports to the EU were worth 38 billion. Two-way trade has been growing steadily in the last decade.
The EU-GCC talks date back some 20 years. Little progress has been made lately.
In response to scepticism about free trade from Trump, Germany has been urging the EU to speed agreements to open trade. Talks are underway with the GCC, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand.
In March, Gulf officials said the six GCC states were pressing for an early agreement on free trade with Britain to secure preferential arrangements after Brexit and could have a draft agreement ready within months.
GCC states are trying to diversify their economies and boost non-oil trade after more than two years of low global oil prices that have hurt their finances. They export mainly oil, gas and related products to Western economies while importing a wide range of goods and services.
With input from Reuters
