Sisi heads to Berlin, Germany looking to step up economic support
** #6 President Abdel Fattah El Sisi arrived in the German capital on Sunday for a four-day visit to attend the G20 Compact with Africa conference, according to the State Information Service (SIS). On his first day in Berlin, the President met with execs from the Federation of German Defense and Security Industries to discuss boosting military cooperation as well as the chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, for talks on regional security.
El Sisi is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and German President Frank Steinmeier, other German officials and businessmen, as well as African leaders. The president met a delegation from the German parliament in Cairo ahead of his visit
to discuss cooperation in the fields of investment, health, education, and illegal migration. The delegation had expressed interest in increasing economic support for Egypt, according to an Investment Ministry statement.
The G20 summit holds a special significance for Egypt, as the EU looks to make us the model for an EU-North Africa partnership on combating illegal migration from Africa and Middle East. Egypt’s emerging role — championed by European Council President Donald Tusk and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz — could see the country’s coast guard patrol the waters off Libya and take any rescued people back to Africa. The push could see Egypt access funding from the EU to cover these missions in a Turkey-style migrant agreement. Director-General for EU Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Christian Danielsson signed earlier this month a EUR 60 mn funding agreement aimed at curbing illegal immigration in Egypt.
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