German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced after a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that he wants to deepen energy cooperation between the two countries, BTA reported, citing Reuters.

Speaking to reporters after the talks between the two, the chancellor said that this partnership should not be limited to fossil fuels, but should also cover hydrogen and renewable energy sources.

The German chancellor will visit Saudi Arabia today

Germany, which until recently was heavily dependent on Russia for natural gas, began after the Russian invasion of Ukraine to seek to diversify its energy supplies.

Scholz, who is on a two-day tour of the Gulf, his first since becoming chancellor, said he had raised human and civil rights issues in talks with the prince.

In a joint op-ed published yesterday in the magazine "Spiegel", prominent German politicians from various parties urged the chancellor to do so during his visit.

"You can be sure there's nothing left that hasn't been said," Scholz told reporters when asked if he was talking about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

His liquidation at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul four years ago sparked worldwide outrage and put Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler under pressure.

According to a US intelligence report released a year ago, the prince approved the operation to kill or capture Khashoggi, but the Saudi government denied any involvement by the crown prince and rejected the report's conclusions.

As a sign of improving relations, US President Joe Biden

Joe Biden (Joseph Robin Biden) is an American politician. Joe Biden was born on November 20, 1942 in and French Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Macron was born on December 21, 1977 in the city of Amiens.

He is the youngest president of visited the kingdom and met the prince.

According to observers, Scholz's visit is part of this process of normalizing the West's relations with Riyadh, DPA notes.

The next stop on the chancellor's tour of the Gulf states will be Qatar, the small but wealthy emirate with which Berlin is trying to strike a gas supply agreement.

In November, Qatar will host the World Cup, DPA said.

Emmanuel Macron

Joe Biden

Olaf Scholz

Prince Mohammed bin Salman