Saudi Arabia, Germany Seek to Promote Energy Dialogue and Hydrogen Alliance

Saudi Arabia is moving to expand reliance on renewable energy and hydrogen production. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia is moving to expand reliance on renewable energy and hydrogen production. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia, Germany Seek to Promote Energy Dialogue and Hydrogen Alliance

Saudi Arabia is moving to expand reliance on renewable energy and hydrogen production. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia is moving to expand reliance on renewable energy and hydrogen production. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Dr. Dalia Samra-Rohte, Delegate of German Industry & Commerce for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen, said that the German-Saudi Arabian Liaison Office for Economic Affairs (GESALO) sought to promote German-Saudi energy dialogue and the hydrogen alliance.

Saudi Arabia and Germany are seeking to strengthen economic and investment relations and increase trade exchange, on the sidelines of the visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the Kingdom.

Samra-Rohte said that Saudi Vision 2030 created additional opportunities to further develop relations, pointing to sustainability as a major focus in the Kingdom’s aspirations during the coming period.

Opportunities were identified in the areas of renewable energy, recycling, green hydrogen, as well as the water sector, she told Asharq Al-Awsat.

She also stressed that the German industry has contributed to health care developments, major infrastructure projects and digitization in Saudi Arabia.

The delegate of German Industry & Commerce for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen revealed that her country was the Kingdom’s fourth largest trading partner, noting that most of Germany’s exports to Saudi Arabia were focused on chemical products and mechanical equipment.

She went on to say that the value of German exports to the Kingdom reached 5.6 billion euros ($5.4 billion), noting that her country’s companies enjoyed a strong trade relationship with their Saudi counterparts.

Over the past years, German industry has contributed to the general diversification and localization efforts in Saudi Arabia. In this regard, Samra-Rohte emphasized that with the increasing demand for local manpower, German companies have provided job opportunities for many Saudi citizens.

The GESALO office regularly organizes exchange programs and helps Saudi students, who complete their studies in Germany, to find suitable job opportunities, she concluded.



Oil Prices Held Down by Trump Tariff Uncertainty

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
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Oil Prices Held Down by Trump Tariff Uncertainty

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

Oil prices were little changed on Thursday, maintaining almost all of the previous session's losses on uncertainty over how US President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs and energy policies would affect global economic growth and energy demand.

Brent crude futures were up 18 cents at $79.18 a barrel by 1315 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) rose 14 cents to $75.58.

"Oil markets have given back some recent gains due to mixed drivers," said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at brokerage Phillip Nova.

"Key factors include expectations of increased US production under President Trump's pro-drilling policies and easing geopolitical stress in Gaza, lifting fears of further escalation in supply disruption from key producing regions."

The broader economic implications of US tariffs could further dampen global oil demand growth, she added, Reuters reported.

Trump has said he would add new tariffs to his sanctions threat against Russia if the country does not make a deal to end its war in Ukraine.

He also vowed to hit the European Union with tariffs and impose 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico. On China, Trump said his administration was discussing a 10% punitive duty because fentanyl is being sent from there to the United States.

On Monday he declared a national energy emergency intended to provide him with the authority to reduce environmental restrictions on energy infrastructure and projects and ease permitting for new transmission and pipeline infrastructure.

There will be "more potential downward choppy movement in the oil market in the near term due to the Trump administration's lack of clarity on trade tariffs policy and impending higher oil supplies from the US", OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said in an email.

On the US oil inventory front, crude stocks rose by 958,000 barrels in the week ended Jan. 17, according to sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday.

Gasoline inventories rose by 3.23 million barrels and distillate stocks climbed by 1.88 million barrels, they said.