RIYADH, 1 February 2005 — German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will head a delegation to the Gulf and Yemen, including Saudi Arabia, at the end of February. The delegation will discuss bilateral issues of interest as well as Germany’s bid for a permanent seat on the Security Council. While in the Kingdom, Schroeder is expected to meet Crown Prince Abdullah.
The German ambassador to the Kingdom, Gerhard Enver Schroembgens, said Schroeder’s visit would enable him to see first hand what is happening in the Kingdom. He pointed out, “The visit is not intended to negotiate a major project or to solve a crisis with the Kingdom. Rather it is a widening of horizons. The visit’s importance is also heightened since the European Union is about to be expanded with the addition of Turkey, if all goes according to plan. Thus Europe and the Middle East will be neighbors; the Middle East will be much closer to us and since we have no history in the Gulf, this visit will help us gain a better understanding of the region,” Schroembgens said.
The ambassador added that other matters of interest to both the Kingdom and Germany, such as terrorism, the Middle East peace process, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the situation in Iraq, would be discussed. He also said that Schroeder would bring up Germany’s bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. The idea behind this is to institute reforms which will make the organization more relevant to the modern world. Germany is one of the Group of Four nations which want to become permanent members of the Security Council. The others are India, Japan and Brazil.
