President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's visit to Germany is an opportunity for German companies to invest in Egypt, according to businessman Ahmed Mashour, Member of the Egyptian Junior Business Association (EJB). Mashour told Daily News Egypt the visit is very important to enhance and promote strategic cooperation between Egypt and Germany, especially in the field of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). He said SMEs are very important, as 90% of the German economy depends on them. Mashour stressed that this visit is an opportunity to build a solid relationship between Egyptian and German companies in different sectors, expecting that some MoUs will be signed in various sectors. "The EJB delegation to Germany consists of 20 members to discuss the cooperation opportunities and seek for signing MoUs regarding the benefit from German experience in SMEs and vocational education, which Egypt and EJB are interested in," said Mashour. "I think these meetings between Egypt and Germany should always be held to promote the export and import movements and trade balance in different sectors." Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said Germany is one of the most important trading partners for Egypt. German trade in Egypt accounts for approximately €4bn annually, with German investments in Egypt approximately €603m in different sectors. Abdel Nour stressed the need to work to increase those investments to match the strong bilateral economic relations. "The visit will include a number of meetings and events, including the President Al-Sisi's participation in the largest economic forum for businessmen of the two countries, in which about 300 businessmen will take part from Germany, along with 100 Egyptian businessmen to discuss ways of cooperation and partnership," added Abdel Nour. For his part, Nader Riyad, head of the Egyptian side of the Egyptian-German Business Council, said there is a great desire from the German businessmen's side to invest and inject more money into a number of projects that are currently offered by the government. Riyad added that the council is currently developing a sector-based action plan aimed at achieving a genuine partnership between Egyptian and German companies. It is hoped this will contribute to increasing intra-regional trade and joint investments movement during the next phase. German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce CEO Rainer Herret told Daily News Egypt in an interview last week that four Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) will be signed during President Al-Sisi's visit to Germany.
