Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi received on Wednesday his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The two presidents held a closed session of talks followed by a meeting between the two countries’ senior officials.
Al-Sisi welcomed Steinmeier’s first visit to Egypt as President of Germany, and the first by a German president in 25 years.
The meeting witnessed discussions on various regional and international issues of common interest, most notably the developments of the war on the Gaza Strip. President Al-Sisi stressed the need for an immediate end to the bloody war, which has caused a humanitarian catastrophe, in addition to recognizing the independent Palestinian state and implementing the two-state solution in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions, as the path to achieving sustainable peace and security in the region.
For his part, the German President expressed his country’s keenness to continue strengthening its relations with Egypt in various fields, including development and investment work, and in the sectors of energy, immigration and combating terrorism, in addition to promoting scientific and cultural cooperation between the two countries.
In a press conference following the meeting, the Egyptian President pointed out that most of the projects that were built in Egypt over the past years were with the participation of German companies, in large projects such as energy and transportation projects, noting that the contribution of these companies was great, wonderful and greatly appreciated by the Egyptian side, and that these national projects had a significant impact on the infrastructure in Egypt.
He added that he discussed with his German counterpart in detail many issues at the bilateral and regional levels. At the bilateral level, the two presidents discussed the importance of continuing to develop relations and cooperation between the two countries and forming a mechanism for strategic cooperation between the two countries under the supervision of the foreign ministers, in addition to cooperation in various fields such as education and capacity building between the two countries.
Al-Sisi noted that Egypt welcomes German companies to cooperate and invest in Egypt, stressing that their investments in Egypt are largely secured and protected, and this is a commitment he confirms.
In another context, Al-Sisi said that Egypt sought to reach a binding legal agreement on filling and operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), according to international standards and laws for transboundary rivers, adding that Egypt has no other means of water other than the Nile River, which has been flowing for thousands of years without obstacles.
He also explained that Egypt has been exposed to huge crises over the past four years, which it had no hand in, starting with the COVID-19 crisis, then the Russian-Ukrainian war, then the Gaza war that is about to end the year, explaining that Egypt’s three borders, whether from the south with Sudan or the west with Libya and with Israel and the Gaza Strip, were unstable, and this had major repercussions.
Al-Sisi said that over the past years, the number of migrants, whom he described as “guests,” in Egypt exceeded 9 million, yet Egypt has been keen since September 2016 to prevent illegal immigration to Europe, from a humanitarian and moral perspective.
Meanwhile, Steinmeier said that German education boasted a very high status; expressing his happiness that cooperation between Egypt and Germany in the field of education was very good, as there were seven accredited German schools abroad in Egypt and 29 other joint schools where the German language was taught, in addition to two universities (German-Egyptian).
The German President expressed his happiness with the increase in the number of Egyptians wishing to learn the German language, as the number doubled in the past five years to about 420,000, praising Al-Sisi’s support for the project to build 100 German-Egyptian schools, as there were 7 schools and 93 more will be established.
He pointed out that there are about 250 German companies operating in Cairo in a distinguished manner, expressing his hope to strengthen trade and investment relations between the two countries. He revealed the existence of an agreement to sign an agreement related to operating railways and training train drivers.
Regarding the Israeli aggression on Gaza, Steinmeier said that a ceasefire can be reached and Israeli prisoners can be released. He added: “Every party that has influence on the two countries must use its power to influence this, and this is what my country is doing,” stressing that “Egypt is playing an important role, and we are grateful for it and for the tireless efforts it is making to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas.”
He also said that Germany was the second largest donor country internationally for humanitarian aid in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, and that since 2023, aid increased more than threefold, and that this aid would not have arrived without Egypt’s support.
