"Of course, we are in close contact with the German companies in Saudi Arabia, as well as firms working in the region … The German government and the Foreign Ministry are, of course, informed about the concerns of the German companies, and are taking this seriously. If you are asking about specific demands or decisions on the part of the Saudi authorities, I can tell you that we have received no messages from the Saudi leadership," Adebahr told reporters.
The statement was made in wake of Friday's report by the German Spiegel newspaper, citing sources, saying that since November 2017, when then German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel spoke about increasing "adventurist" policies in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has been scaling down its cooperation with the German companies. The Saudi authorities' unwillingness to award contracts and maintain communications reportedly concerned even such large corporations as Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Siemens. Moreover, Riyadh opposed Berlin’s stance on preserving the Iranian nuclear deal, which entailed its regional adversary gradually ending its nuclear weapons program, the outlet noted.
The report echoes a November's comment by Gabriel, who said that Europe could not tolerate the spread of "adventurism" in the Middle East. The ex-foreign minister made his remarks amid a political crisis in Lebanon, which erupted after Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who was in Riyadh at the time, announced he would be stepping down. This prompted officials from both inside and outside Lebanon to speculate that Hariri had been held against his will in Riyadh, and therefore forced to leave office by Saudi Arabia.
Hariri denied claims that he had been held captive by Saudi Arabia and has since returned to being prime minister. However, Gabriel's remarks prompted Saudi Arabia to recall its ambassador to Germany in November. Though Gabriel eventually specified that his statement did not concern Saudi Arabia, Riyadh never returned its ambassador to the European country.
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Berlin was working to improve its ties with Riyadh, the spokeswoman continued, noting that talks on returning the Saudi ambassador to Germany were underway.
As for the Iran nuclear deal, Adebahr pointed out that Berlin shared the European Union's stance on preserving the agreement.
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Germany is among Saudi Arabia's top 10 trade partners, official Saudi statistics show. According to data published in the German media, there are currently around 800 German companies operating in the Middle Eastern country, which employ around 40,000 people.
