Egypt only took 57th place on the list of Bavaria’s most important trading partners in 2023 – but Prime Minister Markus Söder still insists on visiting the North African country personally in the coming days. For the CSU boss, the pure balance of imports and exports is obviously not the only decisive factor when choosing his travel destinations.
The aim of the trip is to expand economic cooperation on the continent as part of the Bavarian Africa strategy, said Söder before the flight from Munich to Cairo. “We support Bavarian companies such as Siemens.” The strategy in question has been in place since 2019, when Söder moved to Ethiopia. Since 2020, Bavaria has also had a business representative office in Cairo.
Söder’s trip to the land of the pharaohs was based on an invitation from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. But instead of him, Söder will meet with Prime Minister Mustafa Madbuli and some ministers for political talks. Al-Sisi himself cannot receive Söder at all – he is also on a short-term trip abroad.
Billion-dollar transport project through the desert
The most exciting point is likely to be a visit to a billion-dollar transport project. Siemens is currently working on a modern high-speed project through the desert. In the future, an approximately 2,000-kilometer-long railway line will connect the Mediterranean with the Red Sea – a “Suez Canal on rails,” so to speak.
The Bavarian delegation also comes with a specific wish: “We want to develop new suppliers for green hydrogen and will agree on cooperation with Egypt in the field of hydrogen,” said Söder. As an “economic performance heart”, Bavaria needs reliable access to hydrogen as a future technology from the north and south. Egypt is focusing on the expansion of renewable energies and is predicted to have great potential – foreign investors are very welcome in Cairo.
Of course, a detour to the pyramids is also firmly planned. “Egypt is an exciting country, simply because of its great history,” said Söder, who has already been a guest here twice as a tourist. Before heading back to cold, autumnal Bavaria on Friday, Söder also wants to visit a social project for children of the Coptic Church and has invited people to the German Embassy to celebrate the Day of German Unity on October 3rd – there will be a kind of Oktoberfest here A barrel of Bavarian beer can also be tapped under palm trees.