German relations, the Jeddah-based Al-Bilad said these relations dates back to 1929 when King Abdul-Aziz and the then German President signed a friendship treaty stipulating keenness on establishing political and economic relations between the two countries. "Relations between the two countries were bolstered by the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, when he was the Crown Prince, to Germany in 2001. In 1959, King Saud visited Germany, King Fahd visited Germany in 1978 and in 1981, King Khalid visited Germany in 1980, and Crown Prince Sultan also visited in 1989. Additionally, several German leaders also visited the Kingdom, subsequently contributing to strengthening further the relations between the two countries. In 1983 and 1985, Helmut Kohl visited the Kingdom, in 2003 and in 2005 Schroeder visited the Kingdom, while Angel Merkel visited the Kingdom in 2007, " the newspaper noted. "Moreover, all these visits have provided a clear evidence for the existing friendly relations between the Kingdom and Germany," the daily noted, adding that the visit of the German foreign minister to the Kingdom yesterday comes within the framework of the keenness of the leaders of the two countries to further cement bilateral relations.
