The German chancellor was expected to discuss the Paris climate accord and urge Saudi Arabia to reduce tensions with Iran. The volume of commercial exchange stood at eight billion euros ($8.72 billion) in 2016. German investments in Saudi were around 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion)," the official said. Merkel is also expected to urge Saudi Arabia and its fellow Sunni-ruled Gulf monarchies to reduce tension with their Shiite-dominated neighbour Iran, the official added. Merkel travels on Monday to the United Arab Emirates, where German investments stand at around 2.4 billion euros ($2.6 billion), the German official said.

Source: The Local May 01, 2017 00:00 UTC