Siemens Energy, Thyssenkrupp to join German economy minister on Saudi Arabia trip: Sources

German industry bosses including the CEOs of Siemens Energy and Thyssenkrupp will join Economy Minister Katherina Reiche on an upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia, highlighting a push by Europe’s biggest economy to further diversify its energy supply.

Reiche is scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia from February 1 to 3 to expand economic relations, a spokesperson for her ministry said, only days after she highlighted the need for new alliances in light of rising geopolitical tensions.

The trip will focus on energy, a critical issue for Germany — Saudi Arabia’s most important economic partner in the European Union — which has suffered from soaring costs after losing access to cheap gas from Russia.

Christian Bruch, CEO of power equipment maker Siemens Energy, and Miguel Lopez, who leads industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, will be part of the business delegation travelling with Reiche, the sources said.

Uniper boss Michael Lewis, EnBW CEO Georg Stamatelopoulos and Egbert Laege, in charge of SEFE Group, will also take part, they added.

Thyssenkrupp, EnBW and Sefe confirmed the participation of their CEOs.

Siemens Energy and Uniper declined to comment.

The ministry spokesperson said a number of memorandums of understanding would be signed on the trip, “focusing on energy projects, innovation, deep technology, artificial intelligence, and especially in the start-up sector.”