Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz will receive the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin on 20 November 2026. The German government announced this on 13 November. According to the government, the talks are expected to focus on relations between the two countries, economic issues and their joint commitment to stability in the Middle East.
The meeting is scheduled for 2 pm. The German government described the topics listed as likely areas of focus; it did not announce any specific agreements. The visit provides an opportunity to continue talks that Merz held in Qatar earlier this year.
On 5 February 2026, the Chancellor met in Doha with the Emir and representatives of the Qatari government. Merz subsequently said he wanted to deepen economic and political cooperation. Qatar has stakes in several companies in Germany, while German firms are also active in the Gulf state. The Chancellor was accompanied on the trip by a business delegation.
Energy supply is an important issue shared by both countries. In Doha, Merz advocated increasing imports of liquefied natural gas from Qatar to reduce dependencies. The German government later corrected a statement by the Chancellor about existing deliveries: a contract for two million tonnes a year provides for deliveries whose start has been delayed due to the later commissioning of the terminal in Brunsbüttel . The statement gave 2027 as the expectation at the time. The announcement of the November meeting did not specify when deliveries are now expected to begin.
Different interests may come into play in any potential further gas contracts. In February, the German government regarded gas for power generation as a transitional technology and did not want to commit itself for excessively long periods, according to a report by Tagesschau. Qatar, by contrast, favours longer contract terms because of the substantial investment in extraction and transport, energy expert Ahmed Kandil told the broadcaster. It is not known whether this will be discussed specifically on 20 November.
Security in the Gulf region was also discussed at the meeting in Doha. Merz said at the time that he was concerned about a further escalation in the conflict with Iran and praised Qatar as a political mediator. The announcement of the Berlin meeting does not specify which individual conflicts are to be discussed.
Asked about arms exports, Merz said in February that deliveries would continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Closer cooperation with partners in the region was possible. He had raised human rights issues in his talks, but did not want to make details public at the time. The German government did not say whether these issues would be discussed at the forthcoming reception.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).