Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry started Monday a visit to Berlin where he will meet with a number of officials to discuss the strengthening of bilateral relations, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.
Shourky's visit to the German capital will last for four days, during which Shoukry will meet with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German National Security Advisor, the German ministers of interior and economic cooperation, and the German parliament’s majority leader, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement.
Abu Zeid added that Shoukry’s visit will focus on enhancing relations between the two countries at the political and economic levels and aims at raising the volume of German-Egyptian trade beyond the 4.4 billion Euros reached in 2015.
In light of Germany’s weight as a global economic power, Egypt hopes that the German business community would become a key investment partner, with 935 German or partially German companies investing around 2.5 billion Euros in Egypt, the Egyptian spokesperson added.
During his visit, Shoukry is expected to address the key German economic initiatives in Egypt, including projects by the German firm Siemens and other projects in the fields of housing, tunnels construction, transportation, oil and natural gas, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministryh's statement.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made his first official visit to Germany as president in June 2015 after being invited by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The visit had sparked controversy in Germany particularly after the head of the German lower house of parliament Norbert Lammert cancelled a scheduled meeting with Sisi, citing an "unbelievable number" of death sentences.
