Egypt, Germany sign EUR 129 cooperation protocol as Sisi meets Merkel in Berlin
Egypt and Germany signed a four-year economic cooperation protocol yesterday worth EUR 129 mn, according to an Investment Ministry statement. Of the total, EUR 45 mn will be allocated to economic development initiatives, while EUR 43 mn will be spent on energy projects, and EUR 39 mn on water-related projects, and another EUR 2 mn on youth-targeted projects. The two sides also signed MoUs that cover vocational training and scientific research, as well as an agreement to establish a German university for applied sciences at the new administrative capital.
Siemens AG CEO Joe Kaeser had plenty of nice things to say about Egypt and efforts to revitalize the economy and improve infrastructure, Egypt Today reports. Kaeser’s comments came in his speech yesterday addressing the G20 Africa Investment Summit in Berlin, where President Abdel Fattah El Sisi was in attendance, alongside 11 other African leaders and heads of major international organizations.
This came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged yesterday to establish a new African-focused development fund that would “tackle unemployment in Africa,” which she sees as a main reason behind illegal migration to Europe, Reuters says. Illegal migration was among the issues that came up during El Sisi’s talks with Merkel yesterday, which focused mainly on bilateral cooperation across the board, as well as regional issues, Ittihadiya said in a statement. (For background on Africa’s unemployment problem, see yesterday’s Worth Reading.)
El Sisi’s visit to Germany had the talking heads buzzing, with coverage yesterday on Yadhoth fi Masr (watch, runtime: 2:37), Hona Al Asema (watch, runtime: 9:27), Masaa DMC (watch here, runtime: 6:16, here, runtime: 7:52, and here, runtime: 1:01:18), and Al Hayah Al Youm (watch here, runtime: 11:12 and here, runtime: 7:44).