Egypt signed three economic agreements with Germany on Monday worth 203 million euros, covering renewable energy, education, irrigation and small- and medium-sized enterprises. The agreements were signed by Germany's minister of economic cooperation and development Gerd Müller and Egypt's minister of investment and international cooperation Sahar Nasr, according to the Egyptian ministry's website. The deals were sealed on the sidelines the German-Egyptian Economic Forum in Berlin on Monday, which Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is attending. The forum is aimed at highlighting the range of investment opportunities in Egypt with a view to encouraging further investment in the nation's economy. The first agreement, worth 141.5 million euros, prioritises four areas of investment in Egypt. These include the development of renewable energy in the Gulf of Suez and another project to increase energy efficiency in cooperation with the electricity ministry and the High Council of Universities. Also involved is a project with the Egyptian National Bank to encourage small- and medium-sized enterprises, and another to improve irrigation and sanitation methods in cooperation with the irrigation ministry. The second agreement is the Economic and Developmental Cooperation Agreement, worth 50 million euros, to fund solar-energy installations in Egypt and a technical and professional education project. A third agreement, worth 12 million euros, is described as "an agreement to support different development sectors", inluding investment in Egypt's education sector and reform of Egypt's governmental bodies. Nasr expressed her wish for increased German investment in Egypt, referring to 1,039 German companies that are currently investing in the country. The two nations have strengthened economic and political ties over the past few years. In 2015, German company Siemens signed an eight billion euro ($9.05 billion) deal with Egypt to build gas and wind-power plants. Germany has also begun supplying Egypt with submarines, in 2016 delivering a submarine built by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. Two more submarines destined for Egypt are currently under construction. Bilateral trade amounted to approximately 5.6 billion euros in 2016, a 10 percent rise from 2015. German investment in Egypt up to January this year stood at nearly $620 million.
