RIYADH/JEDDAH, 6 October 2003 — German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder arrived in Riyadh yesterday at the start of a two-day visit to the Kingdom which forms the second leg of a three-country tour, taking in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
In a meeting with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, Schroeder expressed his country’s desire to forge closer ties with the Kingdom.
Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, welcomed the chancellor and hosted a banquet in his honor followed by discussions focusing on Arab and international issues, most importantly developments in Palestine and Iraq.
The two leaders, in talks attended by Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, emphasized the need to implement the Middle East road map and force Israel to respect UN resolutions.
Accompanying Schroeder on his first visit to the Kingdom is a “small but very important business delegation of 15 high-ranking businessmen,” said a German Embassy official. It includes the head of the German engineering giant Siemens, Heinrich von Pierer. “We attach great importance to Saudi Arabia and to economic affairs in the Kingdom and Gulf region,” the official said. “We want to develop a greater and very positive presence in the Kingdom, and by coming here we are happy to reciprocate the visit of Crown Prince Abdullah to Germany in 2001.”
