Merkel, who will also visit Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, met Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Mohamed, the brother of President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan whom Merkel is due to meet today, stressed the UAE’s readiness to develop its “strategic partnership” with Germany, the official Wam news agency reported.
Among the main topics of their meeting was the Middle East peace process as well as regional and global issues, said Wam.
Merkel is also due to visit Masdar City, a $ 22bn Abu Dhabi project to build the world’s first carbon-neutral city which is scheduled to house 55,000 people when ready in 2015.
She was cited by Wam as assuring the crown prince that Germany was prepared to provide assistance for UAE projects on renewable energy.
Wam reported that it was in this context that she met the minister for higher education and scientific research, Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan.
After their talks, the two delegations signed a series of agreements, including one on the purchase by Abu Dhabi Group of Siemens Electrical equipment worth about $ 203mn.
In addition they inked a memorandum of understanding on co-operation in exploration and development of oil and gas sites, as well as one between UAE and German companies for the maintenance of natural gas treatment facilities.
