Staff report: CAIRO, July 2, 2018 - Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri is due to fly to Berlin today, starting a European tour that will also take him to Austria, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said. The tour aims to follow up the progress of bilateral relations with each of Germany and Austria as well as ways of enhancing ties with them in various fields, Spokesman Abu Zeid, adding that Minister Shoukri's talks in Vienna would cover coordination with Egypt's European partners in the light of Austria's taking over of the presidency of the European Union Council as of July 1. Shoukri's visit to Berlin would last for two days during which he would hold quite a number of meetings with German government officials and Bundestag members. The meetings in Berlin reflect the large momentum that Egyptian-German relations are gaining in various sectors, especially with the growth of economic, investment and trade co-operation, Spokesman Abu Zeid said. The Foreign Ministry spokesman also noted that the considerable development in relations between Egypt and Germany points to the close mutual understanding between the leaderships of the two countries and the coordination and consultation between the two countries with regard to the developments on the Middle East, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.