Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will visit the German capital Berlin and meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Negotiations between the two sides are expected to revolve around an agreement to supply Germany with Qatari liquefied natural gas.

The supply of LNG is critical to Germany’s efforts to reduce its dependence on gas imports from Russia. The Foreign Brief website pointed out that negotiations to reach a formal agreement have recently run into difficulties due to disagreements over their duration, the price index and the diversion of the Qatari gas route from Germany to other countries.

He explained that “Among these differences, Qatar requires the pricing structure to be linked to oil prices, which would currently result in Germany paying high insurance premiums.” Negotiations are likely to drag on and be agreed on Qatar’s terms in large part due to Germany’s willingness to accept higher LNG prices as a compromise to eliminate dependence on Russian gas. Qatar is expected to benefit from rising global demand for its natural gas as Western countries seek non-Russian suppliers.