For more than two years, the kingdom has been bombing Yemeni rebels aligned with Saudi Arabia's regional Shiite rival, Iran. Saudi Arabia and Iran also back opposite sides of the conflict in Syria, and Germany was one of six international powers that negotiated the nuclear deal with Iran to which Saudi Arabia objected. Saudi Arabia has one of the world's highest execution rates and executes people for non-lethal offenses such as drug smuggling. Merkel is traveling with a business delegation that includes CEOs of major German companies that are eyeing opportunities in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are Germany's largest trading partners in the Middle East.

Source: Egypt Independent April 30, 2017 21:22 UTC