German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the United Arab Emirates Monday for talks on economic and security issues.

Talks covered “bilateral political and economic relations… the crises in Syria, Libya and Yemen as well as efforts by the two countries to combat extremism”, state news agency WAM reported.

WAM has reported the UAE is Germany’s main trading partner in the Gulf, with annual trade worth around $16 billion (14.67 billion euros).

German investments in the United Arab Emirates stand at around 2.4 billion euros ($2.6 billion), according to German government sources.

Merkel’s UAE visit comes after meetings Sunday with top Saudi officials in Jeddah, where the German chancellor signed a string of draft agreements with King Salman covering industry, economic relations and security.

Source: AFP