Germany and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to revitalise their strategic partnership following talks in Berlin between Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The cooperation will cover security, defence, trade, energy, climate, technology, digitalisation and transport.
The UAE plans to invest an additional €40 billion in Germany, more than doubling its current investment of approximately €34 billion. During the first state visit to Germany by a UAE president, German and Emirati companies also signed 29 agreements reportedly worth nearly €9.4 billion.
The visit produced closer defence, police and security cooperation, while German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier highlighted the Emirates’ economic diversification and its potential as a partner in renewable energy and hydrogen.
In a significant aviation development, Emirates has secured additional German traffic rights and plans to launch daily flights between Dubai and Berlin Brandenburg Airport. The service forms part of a new bilateral air transport agreement and will add Berlin to Emirates’ existing German destinations of Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf and Hamburg. Berlin officials said the route would strengthen BER’s long-haul connectivity and deepen economic ties between the two regions.