Berlin  - The crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, discussed the Gaza crisis on Monday in Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel and other German officials.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who spent Saturday and Sunday meeting Egyptian, Palestinian Authority and Israeli officials on a Mideast trip, briefed the crown prince on negotiations for a ceasefire, government sources said.

The sources said the Germans and the UAE agreed that "regional players" should have a bigger role in efforts to settle the UN dispute with Iran over its nuclear research.

Germany and the UAE agreed to jointly fund a project to upgrade a key airport in northern Afghanistan at Mazar-i-Sharif into a regional air transport hub. The German Foreign Ministry said the total cost would be 35 million euros (47 million dollars).

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who was accompanying the crown prince, signed an agreement on the project.

The German minister said the upgrading was a major project in Afghanistan's reconstruction with civilian benefits to the whole region as well as improving air traffic control in Afghan airspace.

Aides said the idea was brought up when Steinmeier visited Abu Dhabi last October.

Details of the project still have to be settled, but Germany expects construction to start this year under the supervision of Germany's federal reconstruction bank KfW. (dpa)