Only recently, Environment Minister Carsten Schneider of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) traveled to Saudi Arabia; shortly thereafter, Economy Minister Katherina Reiche of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) arrived and explained why: "When partnerships that one has relied on for decades begin to become a little fragile, we must look for new partners." Partners, for example, in energy and armaments projects. Reiche signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Saudi Arabian Energy Minister and posted the news on X.