Germany has offered Egypt $500m to support its economic programme and its small and medium-sized businesses, said the Egyptian Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation on Friday. "It was agreed with the German side [that they would] provide $250 million to support the economic programme, as well as $250 million to support several other sectors, including micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises," the ministry said in a statement. The support will come in the form of grants and concessional funds, a government official told Reuters. The German offer came during a visit to Egypt by German chancellor Angela Merkel. Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr announced Berlin's offer at the Egyptian-German Business Forum that was held during Merkel's visit to Cairo this week, on which she was accompanied by a delegation of German investors. Nasr said at the meeting of the Egyptian-German Business Forum, "Germany's step gives a push to Egypt's micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and supports the Egyptian workforce with more training." Nasr also told the German businessmen at the forum that the government is determined to improve the investment climate in Egypt and overcome the obstacles that foreign investors face, and that she's looking forward to more German investments in Cairo, assuring the attendees at the forum that the ministry has finalized an investment law that's currently under parliament discussion. German investments in Egypt are estimated to be a total €1.5 billion, according to the ambassador, and provide around 22,000 jobs.
