A high-level German economic delegation is expected to visit Egypt by the end of September to discuss possibilities for new investment, an official statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday. Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry met with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier and with Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Gerd Muller on Sunday evening to discuss political and economic cooperation. The Egyptian official discussed Germany's participation in the "Partners in Development" conference through the encouragement of private sector participation and investment. The ministerial statement said that Shoukry praised the existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms and looked forward to activating them, especially with regards to the second tranche of the debt swap agreement which amounts to €160m. Reports in early 2013 stated that the debt swap agreement between Germany and Egypt was cancelled. "The deal is on hold," said Hans Hamman, development cooperation referent at the German Embassy in Cairo. "The first tranche is actually in work while negotiations on the remaining amount were postponed in December because €30m of the first tranche was not yet spent." Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ashraf El-Araby also denied the reports that the debt swap agreement had been cancelled. The ministerial statement added that the German economic minister had shown interest in the possibility of forming cooperation in Africa through the Egyptian Development Agency. He was also interested in forming cooperation between Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Germany to invest in different sectors, especially the new and renewable energy sector.
