BERLIN – Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Rady praised the history-honored relationship between Egypt and Germany at all levels and in numerous areas of co-operation, including economy, trade and development.
In an exclusive interview aired Monday night by Nile News TV channel, he said President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s current visit to Germany comes at a very important time whether at the bilateral level or the international one given the current developments in the world at large and most particularly in the Middle East region.
He stressed the importance of the visit for fostering bilateral relations, noting that this is the first visit by the president after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took office and it coincides with the 70th anniversary of establishing Egyptian-German diplomatic relations.
Rady said president Sisi met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and exchanged with him viewpoints on regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the conditions in Libya, Syria and Lebanon in addition to the issues of terrorism, illegal migration and cooperation in the field of energy.
President Sisi met on Sunday Peter Lürssen, the owner and board chairman of German boatbuilder Lürssen, to discuss cooperation in the maritime industry, the spokesman said.
During the meeting, Sisi stressed the importance that Egypt attaches to promoting cooperation with the German company, a highly reputed global shipbuilding mogul with broad experience in this industry, according to Rady.
The president participated in the Petersberg Climate Dialogue which is of great importance as it comes ahead of the UN climate change conference, COP27, that Egypt will be hosting in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh in November, said the spokesman, pointing out that Sisi spoke in his address to the gathering about Egypt’s vision vis-a-vis the climate crisis and the need to strengthen global climate action and prod the major industrial countries to honor their pledges to support the developing and third world countries in their adaptation and mitigation efforts.
He also said that he held closed-door talks with the German chancellor which were followed by an expanded meeting that was attended by delegations from both countries and that covered all joint cooperation files, notably that of energy and liquefied gas supplies to Germany and other European countries from Egypt and neighboring states, especially those in the Eastern Mediterranean area like Greece and Cyprus. He highlighted the vital role played by Egypt’s gas liquefaction plants in Damietta and Rashid (Rosetta) as a hub for exporting LNG from the region to Europe.
Rady said the president’s talks in Germany tackled national mega projects in Egypt, pointing out that Germany’s Siemens is among many leading German companies working in Egypt, highlighting that the company recently signed a contract to construct 2,000 kilometers of high-speed rail lines across Egypt, the longest line in the world, and also signed contracts in the fields of electricity and agriculture.
The talks between the two sides tackled co-operation in the field of green hydrogen as the German side is interested in long-term cooperation with Egypt in that domain, he added.
He said the president met the German defense minister and will hold a roundtable meeting with the managers of Germany’s major companies operating in Egypt to promote investments.
The president will also meet with a number of German officials Tuesday topped by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, added the spokesman.
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