During a joint press conference with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs, and the German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development during her visit to Egypt... Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation: Expanding Egypt-Germany relations to widen innovative financing mechanisms and increase private sector investments.

● The German Minister’s visit to Egypt is a strong message reflecting the close partnership between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Federal Republic of Germany at a time of significant regional and global sensitivity.

 

● 1,600 German companies operate in Egypt with investments exceeding €6 billion in sectors including development, green transition, and manufacturing.

 

● The next round of German government negotiations on the new financial cooperation agreement will take place by the end of this year.

 

● Our partnership with Germany has strengthened private sector investments in green hydrogen and sustainable energy.

 

● We value Germany’s efforts to finalize the macroeconomic support mechanism and budget support within the EU partnership framework worth €5 billion.

 

● We are working through the national narrative for economic development “Advancing Economic Development in Egypt: Reforms for Growth, Jobs & Resilience” to structurally transform Egypt’s economy towards tradable and export-oriented sectors.

 

● We implemented development projects in several sectors under the Egypt-Germany Debt Swap Program worth €340 million.

 

● The Egypt-Germany partnership has enhanced the implementation of the energy pillar under the country platform, the “NWFE” program, and mobilized private investments and concessional financing.

 

● We aim to establish a platform similar to "NWFE" to mobilize international partnerships for industrial development.

 

● The innovative models of Egypt-Germany cooperation were highly praised at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in Spain.

 

● Egypt’s economy is showing notable improvement in growth indicators, and we are working on enhancing macroeconomic stability to attract more foreign investment.

 

● Technical education development is part of our effective partnership with GIZ to support national priorities in employment generation.

 

● We are discussing with the German side the possibility of increasing development financing for the private sector through German financial institutions.

 

● A new €100 million tranche under the debt swap program will be activated in December 2025 and June 2026.

 

 

 

H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, and H.E. Amb. Badr Abdel Aaty, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs, held a joint press conference with H.E. Ms. Reem Alabali-Radovan, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, who is visiting Egypt for the first time since assuming her position in the new German government.

 

 

 

During the conference, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat affirmed that the joint press conference and the Minister’s visit, her first to a country outside Europe, reaffirm the strong partnership between Egypt and Germany despite regional and global challenges. She noted the two countries enjoy a strategic partnership to promote economic cooperation, serving as a model of trust-based, mutually beneficial relations, evolving into a comprehensive strategic collaboration. Germany is one of Egypt’s largest European partners in development cooperation, trade, and investment.

 

 

 

She referenced the “Team Europe” report that showcased Egypt’s partnerships with EU countries, launched earlier in 2024 during the EU-Egypt Partnership Council meeting in Brussels. She emphasized that Egypt maintains a comprehensive strategic partnership with the EU, with Germany being a central "Team Europe" member and a cornerstone of this cooperation. She thanked the German side for its strong support toward completing the EU’s macroeconomic support and budget aid mechanism.

 

 

 

She highlighted her bilateral meeting with the German Minister, building on discussions from the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in Spain, to follow up on its outcomes and explore how to enhance Egypt-Germany cooperation given the close ties between the countries. The innovative Egypt-Germany partnership models were notably praised during the Spain conference.

 

 

 

Trade and Investment

 

 

 

H.E. reviewed Egypt-Germany relations in the private sector, noting that German companies directly support development efforts in Egypt, especially in energy, green transition, industrial development, and infrastructure. Around 1,600 German companies operate in Egypt with total investments exceeding €6 billion, including major firms like Siemens, Mercedes-Benz Egypt, BSH, Duravit Egypt, Bosch, and many others. Germany is a leading trade and investment partner for Egypt, with trade volume reaching approximately €6.8 billion.

 

 

 

She stressed that Egypt-Germany relations, whether in trade, foreign direct investment, or development cooperation, ultimately align with Egypt’s national development narrative and government priorities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Debt Swap for Development

 

 

 

H.E. stated that the Debt Swap Program between Egypt and Germany represents an effective model and a milestone in development cooperation efforts between the two countries, with a total value of €340 million, including a new tranche worth €100 million to be activated at the end of this year and mid-next year, explaining that despite global calls for such mechanisms to support developing countries, Egypt anticipated these calls by implementing the program with Germany. The program has funded diverse projects in technical education, health, climate action, capacity building, expansion of applied technology schools, as well as water and sanitation projects.

 

 

 

She further explained that one of the key pillars of development cooperation between Egypt and Germany is supporting the projects of the country platform for the “NWFE” program, launched by Egypt at COP27, where Germany allocated €258 million between concessional financing, grants, and debt swaps to support the development of the electricity network and integrate renewable energy projects, enabling 10 GW of renewable energy by 2028.

 

 

 

Investment Guarantees and Green Transition efforts

 

 

 

The Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation expressed her aspiration for further progress in Egyptian-German relations, especially through the EU +EFSD Investment Guarantee Mechanism, launched during the Private Sector Development Financing Conference, which is expected to increase European investment guarantees through international financial institutions, attracting more direct investments from both local and foreign private sectors.

 

 

 

Moreover, H.E. stated that Egypt’s vision to become a regional hub for green energy is a priority in relations with Germany through encouraging foreign investment in this field. In this context, the PtX Development Fund, financed by Germany’s KfW Development Bank, provided €30 million to Norway’s Scatec for the green hydrogen project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The project key partners include Scatec, Fertiglobe, Orascom Construction, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE), and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company. The project relies on solar and wind energy to produce about 70,000 tons of green ammonia annually, reducing CO₂ emissions by about 140,000 tons annually and creating over 1,300 jobs.

 

 

 

German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ)

 

 

 

H.E. noted that Egypt and Germany are expanding bilateral cooperation through GIZ in priority sectors including technical education, water resources management, local community development, support for entrepreneurship and women's empowerment. explaining that technical education development is part of our effective partnership with GIZ to support national priorities in increasing employment.

 

 

 

GIZ provides technical support for the launch of the Egyptian-German Technical Training Academy (EGT Academy) in cooperation with Siemens Energy and Egypt’s Productivity and Vocational Training Authority under the Ministry of Industry to provide vocational training opportunities for engineers and technicians across industries, enabling them to develop their skills in various fields, including workplace safety, automation solutions, and real-life work simulations.

 

 

 

Egypt-Germany Financial Cooperation Agreement

 

 

 

Dr. Al-Mashat spoke about the annual Egypt-Germany financial cooperation agreement, signed in May 2025, which includes a €118 million funding package in the form of concessional financing and development grants. It supports:

 

 

 

● The Inclusive Technical Education Initiative - Egypt, with a €32 million allocation to the Ministry of Education and Technical Education to establish 25 Egyptian Centers of Excellence (sector-focused centers and applied technology schools), including 3 sector-specialized centers.

 

● The integration of Acwa Power Station 1 & 2, enabling evacuation of 1,100 MW of wind power capacity, with a total €86 million in funding (€54 million in concessional loans and €32 million in complementary grants), supporting the energy pillar of the NWFE program for the Ministry of Electricity and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company.

 

 

 

Furthermore, H.E. added that a new round of Egyptian-German intergovernmental negotiations will be held by the end of this year to agree on economic cooperation priorities for the coming period, adding that the meeting with the German Minister also included discussions on increasing development financing for the private sector through German financial institutions.

 

 

 

H.E. also touched on the significant improvement in the Egyptian economic growth indicators during the first nine months of FY 2024/2025, noting that the government is working to strengthen macroeconomic stability to attract more foreign investments.