Egypt’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Hussein Eissa held two separate meetings at the government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital with Jürgen Schulz, Germany’s ambassador to Cairo, and Suresh K. Reddy, India’s ambassador to Egypt, to discuss ways to strengthen economic and development cooperation with both countries.
During his meeting with the German ambassador, Eissa expressed Egypt’s appreciation for its long-standing development partnership with the Germany, describing it as one of Egypt’s largest European development partners.
He noted that the current cooperation portfolio between the two countries spans several key sectors, including energy, water, sanitation, irrigation, solid waste management, and efforts to enhance private sector competitiveness.
Eissa also reviewed the “Invest for Jobs” initiative implemented by the KfW Development Bank, which provides grants to support investment projects through a competitive mechanism that selects proposals with strong potential to create employment opportunities.
He highlighted several sectors that could benefit from the initiative, including construction and related industries, metal and electrical manufacturing, education and social services, food industries, transportation and logistics, information technology, and the hospitality sector.
The Deputy Prime Minister also addressed the Egyptian-German debt swap programme, describing it as an innovative mechanism supporting Egypt’s green transition. He pointed to the possibility of launching additional phases of the programme targeting improved energy efficiency in the industrial sector, green hydrogen projects, and technical education.
Both sides emphasised the importance of continuing to strengthen economic and development cooperation between Egypt and Germany and supporting joint initiatives that contribute to sustainable development, increased investment, and job creation.
In a separate meeting with the Indian ambassador, Eissa highlighted the deep historical ties between Egypt and India and the steady progress achieved in bilateral relations, particularly in the economic, trade, and investment fields.
He reaffirmed the Egyptian government’s commitment to expanding bilateral cooperation and opening new avenues for partnership between the two countries.
Eissa said the meeting provided an opportunity to explore future cooperation prospects, particularly in light of Egypt’s promising investment opportunities. He also stressed Egypt’s interest in strengthening cooperation with India within the framework of the strategic partnership between the two countries, especially following Egypt’s accession to BRICS, which offers additional opportunities to expand economic and development collaboration.
The Deputy Prime Minister also reviewed the government’s ongoing restructuring of economic authorities and state-owned companies, as well as its asset offering programme aimed at maximising the value of state assets and attracting additional local and foreign investment.
He explained that the programme includes offering stakes in several major institutions and companies across multiple sectors, including banking and financial services, energy, infrastructure, logistics, insurance, and pharmaceuticals.
The initiative presents promising opportunities for international investors to enter the Egyptian market through public offerings or strategic partnerships, he said, inviting Indian companies to participate in the programme.
The meeting also discussed prospects for expanding cooperation between Egypt and India in emerging fields such as innovation, technology, and digital transformation, in addition to supporting startups and strengthening collaboration between innovation ecosystems in both countries.
The two sides further explored ways to encourage greater Indian direct investment in Egypt across various sectors, particularly within the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
Eissa also praised the existing cooperation between the two countries in capacity building and government training through the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC), which has helped train a large number of Egyptian professionals. He welcomed the recent increase in training scholarships allocated to Egypt.
The Deputy Prime Minister said Egypt is interested in expanding this cooperation through more specialised training programmes and joint workshops, as well as exploring opportunities for postgraduate scholarships at Indian universities to support knowledge exchange and institutional capacity building.
