Muscat – Germany and Oman held talks in Muscat on Tuesday to look into the former getting gas from the sultanate in a bid to find an alternative to Russian fuel supplies.

Dr Tobias Lindner, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, Germany, who is currently on a tour in the region, arrived in Oman and met with H E Mohsin bin Hamad al Hadhrami, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, on Tuesday.

During the meeting, they discussed encouraging investment in green energy, and ‘Germany’s desire to cover the increasing demand for gas by importing it from the sultanate’, stated the Ministry of Mineral and Energy.

Preparations for participation in the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28), to be held in the UAE later this year, were also discussed.

News agency Reuters in February had reported that Oman and Germany were in advanced talks to sign a deal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) of at least 10-year duration.

In July last year, Oman and Germany signed a declaration of intent for cooperation in the field of energy.

Europe has been pushing to replace Russian gas since last year against the backdrop of its war with Ukraine, with Russia’s state-run Gazprom reducing and then suspending the lion’s share of pipeline supplies to Europe.

Lindner is on a three-country tour in the region that includes his visit to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Before his departure from Germany, Lindner issued a statement underscoring Germany’s great interest in regional stability and security in the Gulf region, “not least because of our trade relations and energy supply”.

He acknowledged that the Gulf states play a central role in finding solutions to the conflicts in Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Libya. “I would like to talk about this with our partners in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Muscat and Riyadh,” he added.

“Another focus of my visit will be on renewable energy and the preparation of COP28 . The United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia are key countries for our global climate goals and a sustainable energy supply. We can only make progress here together!”