Germanembassy

The chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, is paying a two-day visit to Egypt on Thursday, to discuss several political and economic issues between Egypt and the most powerful industrial country in the European Union. Throughout the visit, it is scheduled for Merkel to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, and the Coptic patriarch, Pope Tawadros II. Meetings between German and Egyptian businesspeople will also take place during the visit, according to a press statement issued by the German embassy in Egypt. Under Al-Sisi, Egypt relied on German energy company Siemens to establish three power plants with a turnkey system in Beni Suef, Borollos, and the New Administrative Capital with a capacity of 14,400 MW, worth €8bn for both gas and wind plants.Egypt expects many things from the visit, such as attracting further investments from the industrial stronghold of Europe. The German chancellor is planning to discuss regional and national problems concerning refugees, the crisis in Libya, and the situation of German institutions in Egypt. Egypt also could provide Germany the opportunity to establish a German economic area in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, which might increase German exports to all nearby countries. The website of the German ministry of foreign affairs, auswaertiges-amt.de, says that Germany and Egypt enjoy close economic relations, especially in the area of trade. It stated that in 2015, bilateral trade grew by approximately 20% compared to the previous year, now worth EUR 5.2bn. Managing director at Multiples Group, Omar El-Shinity, believes that this visit will be beneficial for both countries regarding both, economics and politics.He believes that the deal with Siemens is designed to open a new path towards the EU, rather than just a deal to increase Egypt’s capacity of energy.