President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met on Sunday with a delegation from the German “Bundestag” parliament headed by Peter Ramsauer, head of economic and developmental cooperation committee, according to a statement from the presidency spokesperson Bassam Rady.
During the meeting, Al-Sisi indicated the importance of Germany as an economic partner to Egypt, which is the third biggest commercial partner of Germany in the Middle East.
The meeting addressed several bilateral cooperation issues between Cairo and Berlin. Al-Sisi highlighted the achievements of the Egyptian economy since the beginning of the economic reform programme. He praised the German support towards the economic reform and localisation of industries.
They also discussed developing Egypt’s educational system and Ramsauer stressed his country’s keenness on increasing cooperation with Egypt in education and health issues.
According to the statement, the meeting also discussed illegal immigration, which Al-Sisi said that Egypt is exerting greater efforts towards countering illegal immigration and controlling borders. He pointed out that since 2016, no cases of illegal immigration from Egypt were recorded.
Al-Sisi added that Egypt is hosting millions of refugees from different countries and that they receive equal treatment like citizens.
Furthermore, Al-Sisi also met on Sunday with Wang Qishan, vice president of China. Al-Sisi and Qishan discussed bilateral relations and economic cooperation between Cairo and Beijing, according to a statement from the presidency spokesperson.
Rady added that during the meeting, Al-Sisi praised the cooperation and high level of bilateral visits, as well as the strategic relation with China, stressing the importance of bilateral coordination in the international forums in all fields.
The president added that both countries share the same views on different issues, praising the Chinese role in a number of developmental projects in Egypt. He expressed Egypt’s interest in increasing cooperation with China in other fields including space technology.
Al-Sisi welcomed the outcomes of the Chinese-African cooperation forum which was held in China last month.
For his part, the Chinese Vice President expressed appreciation for the Chinese-Egyptian relations. In addition, he also praised what Egypt has achieved in the economic field, such as establishing various national mass projects in a short period of time, saying that these achievements encouraged Chinese companies to work in Egypt and take part in these projects. He also stressed his country’s support for Egypt in combating terrorism, and reaching political settlements for the crises in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Commerce and Industry Amr Nassar, and the Chinese ambassador to Egypt attended the meeting.