Qatar, Germany sign energy deal

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Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and German Economy Minister Robert Habeck signed a declaration of intent to deepen cooperation during the emir's official visit to Berlin, the German Ministry of Economy announced in a statement reported by German news agency DPA.

"The energy partnership will help Germany diversify its gas supplies by importing liquefied natural gas from Qatar, and at the same time will give a push towards cooperation in the field of green hydrogen," the statement added.

The German-Qatari partnership in the energy field aims to promote "high-level exchange" between the two governments on energy-related issues, build bridges between the two countries and bring together active parties from the public and private sectors.

The German ministry statement indicated that regular meetings would be held between the Qatari Ministry of Energy and the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Climate Protection.

The statement also disclosed that the two countries agreed to form two working groups. One group will be concerned with strengthening trade relations in the field of liquefied natural gas and hydrogen and establishing a forum on infrastructure and regulatory issues.

The other working group will focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency and load management and will work on developing renewable energy capabilities and related issues, such as infrastructure and electricity markets.

On Friday, German newspaper Handelsblatt quoted Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani stating that Doha hopes to start shipping liquefied natural gas to Germany in 2024.

Habeck travelled to Qatar last March, accompanied by officials from German electricity company RWE and energy company Uniper, to hold talks on long-term deals to supply liquefied natural gas.

On Friday morning, Sheikh Tamim arrived in Berlin, the third leg of a European working tour beginning last Monday. His tour started by visiting Slovenia and then Spain, before moving to Germany and will also include Britain and France.

Source: Middle East Monitor under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0