Schroeder's visit asserts mutual understanding and cooperation

Gerhard will pay a two-day visit to Cairo next Saturday during which he will hold meetings with President Hosni Mubarak, Prime Minister Atef Ebeid, Secretary-General of Arab League Esmat Abdul- Maguid and members of Arab-German chamber of commerce.

The German Chancellor is accompanied by a high-level delegation including more than 50 businessmen for talks on joint economic, trade and investment cooperation.

He will meet Sunday with members of the German-Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry to have an open dialogue on the latest political and economic developments in the Middle East area.

The German businessmen accompanying Schroeder will meet with their Egyptian counterparts on joint investment in the fields of communication, tourism and industry.

On the other hand,primenister Atef Ebeid underlined during a meeting with German ambassador to Egypt Baron Paul Van Maltzahn the importance of promoting bilateral relations in the domains of trade, investment, technology, training and tourism, well-informed sources said.

Economy and Foreign Trade Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali has prepared a file on economic and trade relations between both countries and means of boosting them.

Bilateral trade relations have recently been promoted, Head of the Egyptian commerial Representation body Hamdi Metwali said.

Egyptian exports to Germany increased in the first quarter of this year to DM 178 million against DM 159 million in the corresponding period of last year, he added.

The volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Germany in 1999 rose approximately to DM 4.3 billion, head of the Egyptian trade office in Berlin, Afifi Mahmoud Selim said.

As for German direct investments in Egypt, board chairman of the German-Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ismail Osman said that they stood at DM 342 million in 1999 against DM 138 million in 1996.

There have been about 141 German investment projects in Egypt up to 1999, according to reports.

The volume of the German assistance to Egypt, under the financial and technical cooperation programme between both countries for 1999 approximately amounts DM 333 million expected to reach around DM 400 million.