Germany to begin constructing Egypt’s first military submarine

Germany is to start building the first Egyptian military submarine this month, the Egyptian ambassador to Berlin, Bader Abdel-Ati announced yesterday.

In a press conference, Abdel-Ati said that the mutual relationship between Egypt and Germany became stronger and reinforced when Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi became president of Egypt.

He said that there had been an increase in the number of official visits between the two countries as Germany and Europe are convinced that the EU’s stability is highly connected with Egypt’s own.

“Currently, Egypt builds its relations with Germany and the EU on the basis of a strategic partnership, not on the basis of a giver to a recipient,” the Egyptian ambassador said.

In addition, he said that there is mutual cooperation in several sectors, including education and tourism, believing that Egypt has “big opportunities.”

Abdel-Ati claimed that the German Central Bank said during the G20 summit that “Egyptian economic decisions are courageous and unprecedented because they treat the roots of the economic crisis…This proves the political will [in Egypt] is credible.”

As a sign of improving Egyptian-German relations, the ambassador said that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Al-Sisi met five times in the last year and a half, while her deputy visited Egypt three times this year.

He noted that 100 German businessmen had visited Egypt recently, adding that mutual meetings between for officials from both countries are continuous.