German ambassador to Cairo Julius George Luy, said that pluralism, difference of opinions and freedom of media are not bad and do not threaten the stability of society as many think, but they enlighten the minds of citizens and lead Egypt towards a better economy.
During a meeting between the ambassador and a number of journalists at his house in Zamalek, he said that it is in the best interest of Germany that Egypt sees prosperous, security and stability, noting that prosperity means enabling Egyptians to get all their political, economic and social rights.
He added that Germany has cooperation development projects worth €1.3bn in Egypt that include different sectors such as renewable energy (€337m), Assiut dam (€313m) and water and sanitation (€156m).
In addition, the ambassador noted, that Germany supports small and medium-sized enterprises through loans valued at €66m. He added that Germany has also allocated about €49m for building schools, as well as €48m for technical and operational training, €36m for waste management, €25m for technical support for small and medium enterprises and €65m and €52m for miscellaneous and regional projects respectively.
Egypt is the most important development partner for Germany in the region and one of the largest development partners on the international level, for its high population especially of youth, and its political and economic potential, the ambassador said.
He noted that Egypt is facing internal terrorist threats and suffers from difficulties and challenges on all levels. “Egypt’s stability requires military, political, economic and social measures to contain everyone without discrimination,” he added.
New cooperation development programs will be allocated to Egypt, According to the German Ambassador, including €24m for technical education promotion and €30m for solar panels projects.
According to the Country Director of KFW bank, Wolf Muth, the bank is interested in helping Egypt in the promotion of small and medium enterprises, where KFW will finance the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) with €50m directed to small and medium enterprises.
Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy, Sebastian Lesch, said that Germany is very interested in the reclamation of one and a half million acres projects, adding that they are awaiting the final studies by the Egyptian government to decide whether they will participate in the project or not. “Egypt has strong investment viability and desperately needs to continue rationalizing energy subsidies,” he noted.
