Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea said that Egyptian-German economic relations are close and strategic based on a long history of commercial, industrial, and investment cooperation between the two countries.
Moreover, Gamea noted that the current period is witnessing intense efforts at the governmental and business levels to raise the rates of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
This came during a meeting held by Gamea with the German trade and investment delegation headed by Martin Herrenknecht — the Chairperson of the German Near and Middle East Business Association (NUMOV) — who is currently visiting Egypt to hold a series of meetings with senior Egyptian officials to discuss the future of economic cooperation between the two countries, the development of German investments in the Egyptian market, and a number of files of common interest, said Germany’s Ambassador to Cairo Frank Hartmann.
Furthermore, the minister invited German companies to invest in Egypt and overcome the challenges imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, which included the suspension of supply chains from China and Asian countries and the suspension of production in some German factories.
She pointed out that German companies can benefit from Egypt’s strategic position in exporting from it to various markets by establishing joint projects and value-added systems for both sides, especially in light of the incentives and advantages offered by the investment climate in Egypt in terms of facilitating procedures through the one-stop-shop system and facilitating procedures for providing land and issuing licenses.
For his part, Hartmann stated that this is the largest German economic delegation to visit a foreign country since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which reflects the great interest that German companies have in the Egyptian market.
He elaborated that there are many large German companies operating in the Egyptian market in the fields of infrastructure and energy with huge investments along with medium-sized companies as well as other small-sized companies wishing to inject new investments into the Egyptian market.
Hartmann added that the German side seeks to contribute to the implementation of Egypt’s 2030 Vision by strengthening cooperation in the fields of industry, capacity-building, and technology through the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), which plays a pivotal role in Egypt by qualifying young people and preparing specialised competencies for the labour market.
“Germany and Egypt are linked by strong bilateral ties supported by distinguished economic, trade, investment, cultural, social, and scientific relations,” affirmed Herrenknecht.
He also highlighted the role of NUMOV in promoting economic cooperation with the countries of the region in general and Egypt in particular.
Herrenknecht added that the accompanying delegation includes a group of major German companies working in the fields of transportation, medical supplies, information technology, digitisation, new and renewable energy, and petroleum services.
Furthermore, he disclosed that these companies have a firm desire to invest in the Egyptian market — whether through expanding existing projects or pumping investments in new projects that enhance economic relations between the two countries.
