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| Europe | |
| Schroeder embarks on Mideast tour | |
| 2003-10-01 | |
| Only marginally about WoT...but a peek at Germany’s possible plans for the future, paricularly vis a vis Saudi Arabia EFL German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder leaves Saturday on a trip to Egypt, Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates which is widely being billed as a trade visit with Germany’s three biggest customers in the Arab world. Indeed, the Chancellor is taking a high-powered business delegation on the four-day tour but officials say the visit is also aimed at a series of sensitive political issues. High among them is Berlin’s offer to train police and army officers for the new Iraq. The chancellor made the offer to the United States last month in a bid to soothe Washington’s anger over Germany’s opposition to the Iraq war. The question which must quickly be answered is where this will take place. Schroeder won’t send German personnel to Iraq but would prefer training to be in the region rather than in Germany. However, a request to the United Arab Emirates to use training facilities was met with a less than enthusiastic response. Schroeder will reportedly be seeking clarification from the UAE but also plans to ask Egypt if it will host German military and police trainers as well as thousands of Iraqi students. Growing alarm over Iran’s nuclear programme will also be a top issue in all three countries with Schroeder anxious to get the views of Teheran’s neighbours, officials say. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is also on the agenda but the key message from Germany is a symbolic one that nobody in Berlin wants to talk about on the record. Away from politics, Chancellor Schroeder is clearly eager to use the trip for boosting exports to the region given Germany’s sickly economy which appears headed for zero growth this year. Schroeder will be accompanied by 17 captains of German industry including CEOs of the huge Siemens concern, ABB and the TUI travel group. The head of Saudi Arabia’s investment agency, Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki al Saud, called for more German investment in an interview with the German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche. He said Saudi Arabia planned to spend USD 170 billion in the coming 20 years on energy and water infrastructure alone. "This ought to sound interesting to German companies," said Prince Abdullah, adding that since the 1990 German unification his country had been disappointed over limited German investment moves.
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| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #4 Schroeder twice "threatened" his party this week with resignation should the SPD not okay his "reforms". Watch this space. The Saudis ALWAYS wanted to buy Leopards, back in the 80s already. Franz Josef Strauss (late Bavarian Prime Minister and on the Airbus board) had brokered a deal already but it didn't go through because of these legal implications. Of course the security of Israel is extremely important, too. As for the training of Iraqi police, the logical place would be Kuwait. I don't see much German enthusiasm to invest in Saudi, the Emirates instead look more promising. They are getting more and more popular with German tourists (good package deals, great shopping). |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-10-1 7:43:28 PM |
| #3 Berlin is banned by law from selling arms to regions in conflict or suffering military tensions Isn't that like banning softdrink sales wherever people might be thirsty. |
| Posted by: Superhose 2003-10-1 12:44:01 PM |
| #2 Schroeder's actually trying the same thing as Chirac, he's just a lot smoother: now that the war's over, let's get in on the loot. The offer to train Iraqi police ... somewhere ... is meant to mollify, while the presence of Rheinmetall, et al., is meant to see if the New Iraqi Army™ will sport German weapons. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-10-1 12:40:56 PM |
| #1 The "Please Don't Crush Us" tour. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-10-1 11:28:53 AM |