The visit of Horst Seehofer, prime minister of Bavaria, and his delegation to the Kingdom was a success, according to German Ambassador Boris Ruge.
“The reception of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for Seehofer was a strong reflection of the importance of Bavaria and Germany,” said Ruge. “Seehofer discussed bilateral relations with the king, the Yemeni crisis and the humanitarian situation there.”
“He also discussed with Saudi ministers the opportunities for cooperation in economy, trade, science and education. Bavaria is the second strongest economy in the German federation besides being one of the most advanced in science and education,” he said.
The German leader was in the Kingdom for three days of official visits during which he met King Salman and a number of ministers, including Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, Transport Minister Abdullah Al-Muqbil, Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah and Economy and Planning Minister Mohammed Al-Jasser.
“The prime minister paid a visit to the most advanced laboratory for cancer detection in the entire Middle East and North Africa.
The lab was installed two months ago by Germany at King Saud University in cooperation with the Munich Ludwig-Maximilians-University,” said Ruge.
Speaking on the Yemen crisis, the German ambassador said that his country had been informed of the operation before it took place and Germany expressed its understanding for the operation, given the action of the Houthis and forces loyal to the ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Ruge commended very highly King Salaman’s humanitarian pledge of $274 million to Yemen in response to a UN call. He also commended the Saudi consideration for humanitarian work in Yemen.
Bavaria is the largest German state in terms of land and the second in terms of population with 12.5 million inhabitants. Its capital, Munich, is Bavaria’s largest city and the third largest in Germany.
Because of its solid economy, major German multinational companies, such as BMW, Siemens, Audi and Puma, have their headquarters in Bavaria.