Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed Egypt's counter-terrorism efforts with a senior German politician on Wednesday as part of his three-day visit to the German capital, Berlin. Shoukry and Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the Bundestag's Committee on Foreign Affairs, also discussed means to bolster coordination on regional and international issues. The Egyptian minister arrived in Berlin on Tuesday and held talks on security cooperation with German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer on the same day. The duo discussed ways to boost counter-terrorism efforts and means to bolster collaboration under a security agreement cooperation signed between the two countries in July 2016, which aims at combating terrorism and organised crimes, including human trafficking and smuggling of migrants, drugs and weapons trafficking, and corruption and money laundering. The deal was approved Germany's Reichstag in April 2017 and ratified by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in October of the same year following endorsement by the parliament. According to the deal, the authorities of both countries aim to colaborate on investigations, share information about suspects, and carry out joint operations. Shoukry said Cairo looks forward to "further cooperation in all fields within the framework of the security cooperation…especially preventing and stemming corruption," a statement by the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. The two officials also discussed Egypt's efforts to combat illegal migration, with Shoukry noting that no migrant boat had left Egypt for Europe since September 2016. Earlier on Tuesday, Shoukry sat with by Ralf Brauksiepe, a member of the Bundestag and head of the Egyptian-German Parliamentary Friendship Association. They discussed Egypt's battle against terrorism, the migration crisis, and economic reforms.
