Germany and Egypt have a shared interest in the peaceful settlement of regional conflicts. The two countries work together on the Middle East peace process and in the Berlin Process on Libya.

Germany is engaged in many different ways in Egypt, working to promote trade and business but also human rights and cooperation with civil society. Egypt is a priority country for German development policy and for cultural relations and education policy. This is also underscored by the visits to Egypt made by senior German politicians, such as Federal President Steinmeier in September 2024 and Foreign Minister Baerbock.

The bilateral volume of trade totalled around 3.9 billion euro in 2024. Roughly 1.5 million German tourists visited Egypt in 2023, making Germany the source of the largest number of foreign tourists in Egypt.

With approximately 1.8 billion euro in loans and grants, Egypt is one of the largest partner countries of German development cooperation. Support focuses on the following areas: promoting employment and sustainable economic development, the water sector and waste management, as well as renewable energy and energy efficiency. In addition, Germany provides funding for the construction of primary schools, efforts to improve the status of women and girls, administrative reform and city district development.

Egypt is a priority country for Germany’s cultural relations and education policy. The seven German Schools in Egypt are attended by some 4000 pupils. The Goethe‑Institut branches in Cairo and Alexandria not only offer extensive language and education programmes, but also organise numerous events. Some 19,000 people are either studying German or training to be German teachers at one of the 36 Egyptian universities offering German, or are learning German as a foreign language parallel to their studies. They are assisted by German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) lectors. It is estimated that some 560,000 people are learning the language. The German Archaeological Institute is carrying out numerous excavations as well as restoration projects on Islamic monuments in Historic Cairo, for example.

In the academic sector, four German universities and research institutes maintain offices in Egypt, while the DAAD also has a branch office in the country. In addition, Germany supports the German University in Cairo and the German International University. The Saxony Egypt University is due to open in April 2025. The German Embassy organises regular events with local stakeholders as part of the Cairo Climate Talks.