Angela Merkel welcomes Mohammed Morsi in front of the Federal Chancellery Photo: Bundesregierung/Bergmann

Good, flourishing economic development is conducive to a stable political situation, said the Chancellor. "We would like to see the International Monetary Fund resume negotiations with Egypt very rapidly," and hope that the economy will make progress.

Egypt’s position in the Middle East

The Chancellor also stressed that Egypt plays an important part in the Middle East. She pointed to the Egypt-brokered ceasefire in the most recent Gaza conflict, and thanked the Egyptian President for his role.

President Morsi gave his assurances that his country would abide by the rule of law and that there would be freedom of opinion. He thanked Germany, which was one of the first countries to offer support for the transition following the revolution. Cordial links between the two countries should be further developed, he said.

Partnership for Transformation

Egypt is a key country for Germany in the Arab world. This is why the German government is supporting democratic change in Egyptian society with what it terms a "partnership for transformation".

This partnership is promoting projects to strengthen civil society, the free media and human rights. There are also vocational training and employment promotion programmes, and cooperation arrangements in the fields of education and research.

Angela Merkel added that, " With this partnership for transformation Germany will be making a contribution," to making Egypt’s transition successful.

German-Egyptian Economic Commission

Federal Economics Minister Philipp Rösler then welcomed President Morsi to the first meeting of the German-Egyptian Joint Economic Commission.

This is a fixed forum to allow governments and the business community to discuss closer cooperation and specific projects.