Shifting Sands: Egypt Welcomes Germany To Launch Of New Suez Canal

Newspaper Title: http://www.berlinglobal.org/

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Tuesday - 4 August 2015

Ambassador Haber revealed that the German and Egyptian economic relationship has been generally increasing over the past few years. In 2014, the trade balance between the two countries was equivalent to €4.4 billion, with German exports to Egypt worth around €2.8 billion and Egypt’s exports to Germany valued at €1.8 billion. Exports are concentrated in the fields of information technology, car assembly, energy and land reclamation, and small and medium industries.

There was also discussion about the unveiling of the Suez Canal Axis project, where Ambassador Haber and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel will be attending the ceremony, scheduled for August 6th. Ambassador Haber stated “I congratulate Egypt and Egyptians for completing this historic project”, he believes that it is not the end of the journey but rather, “the beginning of ongoing works for Egypt, thus there must be planning ahead for the implementation of mega projects”.

Whilst the Suez Canal Axis project is a major coup for Egypt, Germany is still unsure of how many projects it will be participating in. Ambassador Haber believes that there are major opportunities for German investors, provided confidence grows in the availability of supporting conditions for investment.

The discussions ended with an affirmation of the strengthening political relationship between the two nations. Germany considers Egypt to be the most important country in the Middle East region, and that without stability in Egypt, there will be no hope for stability in the rest of the region. Ambassador Haber acknowledged that Germany wants relations with Egypt to be positive, and that “doesn’t prevent an honest dialogue between the two sides”.

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