News from Berlin – German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has concluded his diplomatic visit to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he was hosted by the Saudi Crown Prince Salman and his Foreign Minister Saud al-Faizal. This visit took place on October, 13th 2014.

To conclude his visit, he issued an official statement concerning the partnership between the two countries, touching current issues such as the threat posed by ISIS and the Saudi reaction thereof, as well as the many social changes within the country. He publicly acknowledged the responsibility taken by Saudi Arabia while, in the past weeks, Arab countries have been coming together to organize themselves in the fight against ISIS and the fundamentalism in the region. He also underlined that, although some significant cultural differences exist between the two countries, he has observed that Saudi society is changing. In particular, the increasing role of education and of women, such as the increased presence women within the media sphere. “Therefore it is worth looking at Saudi Arabia in a manner which strives to understand the changes taking place and all I can say is that it is well worth maintaining a dialogue with the Government as well as representatives of civil society in order to do so,” Minister Steinmeier concluded.

Minister Steinmeier presented a four-part plan for tackling the advancement of ISIS and called for the development of understanding with the region’s countries on this issue. He furthermore discussed a campaign against the group’s ideology and international initiatives to stop combat fighters and funding from reaching ISIS.

News from Berlin – Berlin Global Team