Cairo, 02.03.17: Chancellor Angela Merkel has visited North Africa. Egypt was her first stop, before she flew on to Tunisia on Friday.
Prime Minister Sherif Ismail welcomed the Chancellor with military honours.
Her meeting with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi focused on closer cooperation in the field of migration policy.
It is clear that Germany and the EU must help to support Egypt with a view to the impacts of migration. The two sides have a joint duty, she said, to improve the fate of refugees in Egypt.
Siemens CEP Joe Kaeser was there for the opening of Egypt's largest energy project. Three power plants operated by the German company were officially opened by video link.
Although Germany is one of Egypt’s main trading partners, it is not yet one of the main investors in the country. The Chancellor reported that it was very encouraging to be able to open the first stage of the power plant project.
Then the Chancellor met with Pope Tawadros II, the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.
Angela Merkel visited the St. Peter and St. Paul Church, where a bomb attack in December killed 29 people.
To foster inter-religious dialogue, the Chancellor also held talks with the Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb, one of the highest authorities of Sunni Islam.
Tunis, 03.03.17: The Chancellor landed in Tunisia's capital at lunchtime.
Tunisia's President Béji Caid Essebsi welcomed Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Presidential Palace in Tunis.
The refugee crisis was the main topic on the agenda when the Chancellor met with Tunisia's leaders too.
The two sides are to cooperate more closely in future on identifying and returning asylum-seekers whose applications are rejected.
In the afternoon Chancellor Angela Merkel attended a special session of the Tunisian parliament. Parliaments are the political heart of every free democracy, she stressed.
Angela Merkel praised Tunisia's democratic reform course. She said the country is a "beacon of hope" for the region. She assured the Maghreb state of her continued full support for the reform process.
Next on the agenda was a meeting with Prime Minister Youssef Chahed. Germany will increase its development assistance for Tunisia by 250 million euros, announced Angela Merkel.
With Federal Development Minister, Gerd Müller, the Chancellor visited the "Start-up House", which supports young entrepreneurs and individuals starting up their own business.
The initiative is to help foster stabilisation and development in North Africa, by giving people professional prospects.
Germany is engaged in Tunisia with a large number of support projects. Tunisia is a priority country of the transformation partnership and the training initiative.