Egypt, Germany deepen economic partnership across investment, trade

Egypt and Germany are strengthening their economic partnership, moving beyond traditional trade towards long-term development and investment cooperation, with a focus on socio-economic stability and green growth.

“Egypt is among the most important partner countries for German development cooperation. We have been and will remain a committed partner for Egypt and its people,” German Ambassador to Egypt Jürgen Schulz told Daily News Egypt.

He stressed that a key feature of the two countries’ cooperation is that it is based on mutual agreement and shared priorities.

Schulz said debt swaps have proved to be an effective instrument for financing development initiatives in Egypt, noting that a total of €254m has been committed and is currently being implemented in the country.

Of this amount, €154m is allocated to the energy sector under the NWFE platform. The funding supports key projects, including electricity grid modernisation, helping strengthen Egypt’s energy infrastructure, improve efficiency, and facilitate the integration of renewable energy, he explained.

The ambassador also revealed that the two governments are holding promising negotiations on redirecting upcoming debt repayment obligations towards development financing in Egypt through the debt-swap mechanism.

Regarding air connectivity between Cairo and Berlin, Schulz noted that German airlines are already among the carriers operating the highest number of flights to Egypt and continue to expand their presence.

The Lufthansa Group, for example, recently launched flights from Munich to Cairo and is preparing to introduce a direct route from Brussels. Condor is increasing its flights to Hurghada, while TUIfly regularly connects passengers to Luxor, Marsa Alam, and Sharm El-Sheikh.

With EgyptAir also operating frequent services to Germany, connectivity between the two countries is stronger than ever, he said, attributing this to Germany’s position as Egypt’s most important tourist market and one of its leading trade partners.

German airlines play an important role in connecting Egypt to international markets and facilitating travel between the two countries, Schulz added.

On investment prospects, the ambassador highlighted several sectors attracting particular attention, including renewable energy, electricity transmission and grid modernisation, logistics, automotive suppliers, digital services, manufacturing, and healthcare-related industries.

He noted that individual investment decisions are made independently by private companies and cannot always be disclosed in advance. However, these sectors closely align with Egypt’s economic modernisation efforts and sustainability objectives.

Turning to bilateral trade, Schulz said the latest available German data point to sustained growth in commercial exchanges between the two countries, with trade volume rising from €5.5bn in 2024 to €6bn in 2025.

Both German exports to Egypt and Egyptian exports to Germany increased by around 10% during the year, he said.

Egyptian exports to Germany rose from €1.54bn in 2024 to €1.64bn in 2025, while German exports to Egypt increased from €3.92bn to €4.38bn over the same period.

Although 2026 trade figures are not yet available, Schulz said expectations point to a continuation of the positive trend.

He declined to anticipate the outcome of ongoing discussions before consulting the Egyptian government, emphasising that such decisions require agreement between both partners.

“Germany is willing and prepared to continue our very successful partnership,” the ambassador affirmed.