One of the most dynamic economic partnerships in the Middle East is the strategic alliance between Germany and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Their cooperation, which spans multiple sectors, is particularly strong in hydrogen energy, aviation maintenance, sovereign investments, and infrastructure development.

This partnership accelerated significantly following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, which prompted Germany to rapidly diversify its energy imports. As Germany sought alternative suppliers for hydrogen, ammonia, and liquefied fuels, the UAE was actively looking to export clean energy and deploy capital in new strategic markets. This convergence of national strategies has transformed a traditional trade relationship into a deep, multi-sector economic partnership. Against this backdrop of international expansion, this insight examines the core pillars of their cooperation—bilateral trade, hydrogen supplies, aircraft maintenance, and sovereign investments—and analyzes how they connect Germany and the UAE to the wider European Union economy.

Theoretical and Analytical Framework

In recent years, the UAE and the European Union (EU) have actively diversified their trade instruments to foster international expansion, providing the structural foundation for the rapid growth in cooperation between the UAE and Germany. Sustainability agreements between the EU and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations play a pivotal role in this dynamic: they allow Middle Eastern countries to reduce their long-term reliance on hydrocarbon revenues while granting European markets a vital gateway to emerging Gulf energy suppliers and capital.[1]

Germany recognized this regional diversification pattern as highly applicable to its own strategic needs, leveraging it to accelerate bilateral cooperation. This alignment represents a clear convergence of mutual interests:

• On the one hand, Germany faced an urgent imperative to secure reliable energy partners after political tensions rendered Russian oil and gas supplies unstable.
• On the other hand, the UAE sought stable, high-value markets for capital deployment to insulate its economy from the volatility of global oil prices.

This coincidence of interest is analyzed with a focus on high-growth sectors such as clean hydrogen and aerospace maintenance.

The enduring success of any bilateral agreement, particularly between the UAE and Germany, relies heavily on digital trade and the structural economic transformations it catalyzes. Short-term, one-off spending programs and temporary policy agreements fail to address the necessity of long-term infrastructure investment. Instead, sustained cooperation is built upon three critical pillars: logistics, technology, and human capital.

For the German government, geopolitics became a dominant determinant of its foreign economic expansion following the severe energy shocks of 2022. Conversely, the UAE’s strategic transition away from oil-dominated revenues perfectly complements German industrial capabilities. Ultimately, it is this shared, complementary economic motive that drives their deepened integration far beyond basic transactional value.

Bilateral Trade Volumes

Bilateral cooperation between Germany and the UAE has grown steadily, establishing the UAE as Germany’s most significant economic partner in the Middle East. Trade statistics underscore this prominent position: in the first half of 2025, bilateral trade volume reached 6.2 billion euros, with Germany’s imports from the UAE accounting for over 50% of this total.[2] These imports were heavily driven by mineral fuels and aluminum products. This robust exchange persisted in the following year, with an estimated trade surplus of 105.7 billion euros reported in the first half of 2026.

Conversely, the UAE’s imports from Germany remain concentrated in high-value industrial and technological sectors. Key segments of German exports to the UAE include Vehicles: $2.31 billion, Machinery and mechanical appliances: $2.13 billion and Electrical and electronic equipment: $1.46 billion.

This sectoral breakdown highlights an intensifying economic relationship that extends far beyond the foundational agreements in clean hydrogen and aerospace maintenance. As both nations continue to align their long-term strategic interests, the diversity and volume of traded commodities are projected to expand well beyond immediate transactional needs.

Renewable Energy and Hydrogen

The most visible pillar of the Germany-UAE relationship is cooperation in clean energy. It was the main reason why Germany first entered the market with the UAE, as it sought alternatives to Russian natural gas supplies. The agreements between giant companies in the two countries prove this cooperation. The most notable partnership came in March 2022 between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which entered a memorandum of understanding with Aurubis, RWE, GETEC, and STEAG, which are based in Germany.[3] The goal of the collaboration is to work together on low-carbon and renewable hydrogen-based fuels. ADNOC delivered the first demonstration cargo of ammonia to Hamburg in September 2022.[4] It was produced via the Fertiglobe joint venture for the German company Aurubis, which produces copper. The demonstration cargo further provided a basis for cooperation as it was produced at Fertiglobe’s Fertil plant, which is in Abu Dhabi’s Ruwais industrial complex.[5] Even the location demonstrates that Germany has become comfortable working with UAE companies and has even set up plants in the country. The plans for using the cargo were to provide a feedstock for the wire rod plant of Aurubis in Germany. Hamburg’s port operator intended to deal with the cargo as a preliminary move to develop the city as a hydrogen import center in Europe. The positioning has become quite strategic and explains the growing cooperation between the UAE and Germany.

With the success of the first cooperation, the partnership between the two states deepened further in 2023. The same company, ADNOC, reached another memorandum of understanding, which is based on its previous success under the first agreement.[6] This time, ADNOC partnered with the government of the German region of North Rhine-Westphalia and Currenta. The agreement is still about clean energy, where it is involved in testing ammonia as a fuel for steam and power generation at Currenta’s facility in Dormagen. The move is a clear illustration of the broader strategy of importing renewable and low-carbon sources of energy to meet the national climate targets.[7] The goal would not be met without the UAE imports, as Germany does not have a domestic renewable energy potential.

In addition to public companies, private players in the energy sector have joined these cooperation efforts. The most notable is the announcement made by the Nasdaq-listed company, Brooge Energy, about its partnership with Siemens Energy. This agreement was made in February 2023 to develop a solar photovoltaic plant of up to 650 megawatts in Abu Dhabi.[8] The solar plant in Brooge Energy is being used to provide green hydrogen and green ammonia. On the other hand, Siemens Energy is responsible for the engineering, design, and construction of the solar plant.

Aerospace, Advanced Manufacturing, and Maintenance Services

Aerospace maintenance is another significant area of the Germany-UAE cooperation, highlighted by the cooperation between Etihad Airways and German aerospace companies. In particular, Etihad has partnered with Lufthansa Technik to expand into a strategic Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) partnership. This MRO was signed in November 2025 so that the two companies would work on component support, landing gear maintenance, aircraft production inspections, and engineering services.[9] Part of the MRO partnership, the Total Component Support contract, grants Etihad’s entire fleet of Airbus A320-family planes direct access to Lufthansa Technik’s spare parts pool. The goal of this provision is to reduce the maintenance cost of A320, A321, and A321neo planes and increase the availability of the frequently needed spare parts. The MRO also states that in the next five years, Lufthansa Technik will provide maintenance to Etihad’s Airbus 380 undercarriages from its specialized workshop in the United Kingdom.[10] The privileges do not stop there. Etihad Airways also has access to Lufthansa Technik’s AVIATAR digital platform, introducing software-based aircraft condition monitoring, a concept far beyond physical parts repair.

In turn, Etihad has extended its Airbus order book, which has obvious effects on the German industry. The airline ordered six A330-900neos, seven more A350-1000s, and three A350 freighters from the country.[11] These orders are significant for Germany because the aircraft are made in a joint venture with substantial production and engineering facilities located in Germany. The procurement of aircraft by the UAE promotes industry and skilled jobs in the aerospace supply chain.

The collaborations have been so successful that there have been additional agreements beyond individual maintenance contracts. Notably, an agreement between GE Aerospace, Lufthansa Technik Middle East, and Etihad Engineering was signed to offer a training program for the local aviation industry workforce in the UAE.[12] The course is a combination of classroom and practical experience in aircraft structures, aircraft maintenance, and engine basics. Trainees receive top-level guidance from the experienced Lufthansa technical training arm. The partnerships indicate that the two countries, the UAE and Germany, mutually agree on developing technical capacity and not just as markets for finalized aerospace and maintenance goods and services.

Sovereign Investment, Logistics, and Financial Services

Another quite visible economic bridge between Germany and the UAE is the Emirati sovereign capital.[13] A few examples demonstrate this significant monetary funding that has improved the industrial and employment sectors in the two countries. The first example is the agreement signed in February 2026 by the Mubadala Investment Company in Abu Dhabi to acquire minority ownership of Apleona, an important facility management company located close to Frankfurt. The German-based company has over 40,000 employees in over 30 countries.[14] The consortium was headed by Bain Capital’s European private equity team, further including the EU in the cooperation. The deal was an outcome of Apleona’s own acquisition effort, which has involved 14 acquisitions in Europe, including the acquisition of the German company, Gegenbauer Group, in 2023. Such sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have become a major component in the dynamic global environment. The activity saw Mubadala’s total deal value in 2024 rise to first place in the world, outpacing Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

The Mubadala-Apleona deal was not the first type of capital investment for Mubadala in Germany. In 2022, the company had already secured financial backing in a 400m USD Series D funding. The investment increased Wefox’s valuation by 4.5 billion dollars, enabling it to improve its digital insurance services in Berlin.[15] The investment in Wefox and Apleona shows that it is not a one-off investment in the German financial technology sector but a sustained and equally profitable endeavor.

A similar footprint in German logistics is portrayed by Dubai-based DP World, which has terminal facilities in Germany and is integrated into a wider inland network in Europe.[16] These include industrial centers in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, France, and Romania. DP World provides UAE-controlled infrastructure in the EU, more specifically German export supply chains, ensuring there are no disruptions for manufacturers in the country exporting their products through northern European ports.

Institutional Architecture and CEPAs

The UAE’s Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs) program provides the wider Germany-UAE relationship with an institutional framework that has the potential to strengthen it further. Since the program was launched in September 2021, the UAE has signed hundreds of CEPAs with trading partners. The program is part of a national plan to boost non-oil foreign trade to 4 trillion UAE dirhams and raise non-oil exports to 800 billion dirhams by 2031.[17] There is no separate UAE-Germany CEPA, as the European Union deals with trade policy as a bloc of member states and not in the name of individual member states. Germany’s trade with the UAE is thus not covered by a direct, bilateral agreement but rather by the EU’s framework agreement with Abu Dhabi.

The collective structure had a direct impact on Germany in 2025 when the European Union and the UAE decided to open trade talks. On 10th April 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and UAE President H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed to start free trade talks. The two sides’ trade officials met for the first time in Dubai six weeks later, on 28 May 2025, to establish a negotiating roadmap.[18] When talks started, annual trade between the European Union and the UAE was around 55 billion euros, placing the UAE among the Union’s top 19 trading partners globally.[19] The discussions addressed areas in cooperation, investment, and trade in goods, services, renewable energy, green hydrogen, and critical raw materials. These were components already in focus for the bilateral relationship developed in 2022 between Germany and the UAE. It is important to note that Germany is the biggest single economy in the EU. It already has one of the biggest bilateral trading relationships with the UAE among EU member countries, so it benefits disproportionately from any market access that is won after negotiations are concluded.

German-UAE Contributions to the Wider EU Economy

UAE-Germany cooperation has three specific and traceable impacts on the wider EU economy, not just one overall impact. The first channel takes place through direct trade of German exports in machinery, vehicles, and aerospace to the UAE.[20] These commodities are only subject to the single market customs, logistics, and financial services enjoyed by countries in the EU. The export activity to the Emirates boosts supplier and logistics activity in neighboring countries linked to German production activity.

The second significance is the capital recycling through cross-border ownership arrangements. When a Gulf sovereign investment goes into one German firm, it can be used for operations in several countries simultaneously. For instance, whenever Mubadala invests in Apleona, staff and facilities are shared across over 30 countries where the company operates.[21]

The UAE-Germany cooperation also connects energy infrastructure to neighboring European markets. The hydrogen and low-carbon ammonia deliveries made by ADNOC to German industrial customers in North Rhine-Westphalia and customers like Aurubis help Germany meet its climate targets set for the importation of large volumes of hydrogen. Additionally, the import of ammonia into the Currnta district is carried out by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is one of the most heavily industrialized districts in Germany. It is also home to a large number of pipelines. Since Germany is located at the heart of many gas and hydrogen transport pipeline networks in Europe, gas imports via the import terminal in Germany can supply neighboring markets via existing cross-border infrastructure. Therefore, the relationship between Germany and the UAE is not just a bilateral relationship. Instead, it serves multiple member states of the EU in trade, ownership, and energy networks.

Conclusion

The UAE-Germany economic cooperation has evolved from a traditional trade partnership to a multi-sector partnership. On the one hand, Germany was looking to find alternative energy supplies to substitute for Russian gas. On the other hand, the UAE was pursuing an energy diversification policy to lessen reliance on oil revenue. The relations focused on vehicles and machines have thus moved to clean hydrogen, aerospace maintenance, sovereign investments, and logistics infrastructure. The diversification is seen in corporate records of top companies in both countries, such as ADNOC, Siemens Energy, Lufthansa Technik, Airbus, Mubadala, and DP World. The benefits reveal a parallel expansion into new industries.[22] This expansion was made possible by the interests on both sides because Germany was trying to find alternative energy supplies to replace those from Russia. The report stated that the UAE was trying to diversify away from its oil reliance. This bilateral momentum is further building in the context of the European Union, which is set to join formal EU-UAE free trade talks in 2025.

It is safe to say that Germany has become one of the UAE’s key trading partners in Europe, and the UAE is one of the biggest players in the Middle East region and the world. The two countries are set to gain a substantial portion of whatever market they are able to penetrate, as evidenced by the multiple agreements between the two businesses. Overall, the relationship is beyond commercial value and has been integrated into the broader European Union economy. In the future, bilateral relations are expected to improve as more industries become integrated into the UAE-Germany cooperation.

[1] Leal-Arcas, Rafael, Abdullah Tahir, Fahad AlHakbani et al., “European Union-Gulf Cooperation Council Trade and Sustainability Relations,” No. 4782474. 2024, SSRN (4782474), https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4782474.

[2] Federal Foreign Office, “Germany and the United Arab Emirates: Bilateral Relations,” https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/aussenpolitik/laenderinformationen/vae-node/unitedarabemirates-228542.

[3] UNFCCC, The United Arab Emirates’ Third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0): Accelerating Action Towards Mission 1.5C, 2024, https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/2024-11/UAE-NDC3.0.pdf.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Quitzow, Rainer, and Yana Zabanova, The Geopolitics of Hydrogen, Springer Nature, 2025, https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/104150/9783031840227.pdf?sequence=1#page=22.

[6] UNFCCC, The United Arab Emirates’ Third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0): Accelerating Action Towards Mission 1.5C.

[7] Ibid.

[8] United States Securities and Exchange Commission, “Annual Report Pursuant To Section 13 Or 15(D) Of The Securities Exchange Act Of 1934 for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024,” Sec.Gov, 2024, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1774983/000121390025038264/ea0240456-20fa1_brooge.htm.

[9] Lagemann, Michael, “New Cooperations Across a Multitude of Fields: Etihad Airways and Lufthansa Technik Form Strategic MRO Partnership,” Lufthansa-Technik.Com, November 18, 2025, https://www.lufthansa-technik.com/en/new-cooperations-across-a-multitude-of-fields-etihad-airways-and-lufthansa-technik-form-strategic-mro-partnership-2f8168fd18a92d17.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Maccioni, Federico, and Ahmed Elimam, “Etihad Airways to Boost Wide-Body Fleet With 32 New Airbus Jets,” Reuters, November 18, 2025, https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/etihad-airways-boosts-wide-body-fleet-with-order-15-airbus-a330s-planes-2025-11-18/.

[12] Lagemann, Michael, “New Cooperations Across a Multitude of Fields: Etihad Airways and Lufthansa Technik Form Strategic MRO Partnership.”

[13] Roll, Stephan, “Sovereign Wealth Funds and Foreign Policy,” Stiftung Wissenschaft Und Politik (SWP) 3, no. 2 (2026): 1–31, https://doi.org/10.18449/2026RP03/.

[14] Mubadala, “Mubadala Announces Investment in Apleona Alongside Bain Capital,” Mubadala Investment Company, May 14, 2026, https://www.mubadala.com/en/news/mubadala-announces-investment-in-apleona-alongside-bain-capital.

[15] Khairnar, Shruti, “Digital Insurer Wefox Raises $400M Series D Funding,” FinTech Futures, July 12, 2022. https://www.fintechfutures.com/insurtech-companies/digital-insurer-wefox-raises-400m-series-d-funding

[16] DP World, Discover Our Network DP World Intermodal, 2026, https://www.dpworld.com/eu-intermodal/-/media/project/dpwg/dpwg-tenant/europe/eu-logistics/media-files/365-082_a4_intermodal_brochure_rgb.pdf?rev=-1&hash=C60AFE9008A3313B44804AAF66CAF712.

[17] IMF, United Arab Emirates Selected Issues, 2023, https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/cr/2023/english/1areea2023002.pdf.

[18] European Commission, “EU–United Arab Emirates Agreement,” Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security, 2025, https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-relationships-country-and-region/countries-and-regions/gulf-region/eu-united-arab-emirates-agreement_en.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Leal-Arcas et al., “European Union–Gulf Cooperation Council Trade and Sustainability Relations.”

[21] Mubadala, “Mubadala announces investment in Apleona alongside Bain Capital.”

[22] UNFCCC, The United Arab Emirates’ Third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0): Accelerating Action Towards Mission 1.5C.