The German Embassy in Cairo welcomed on Friday a bilateral agreement allowing German civil society organisations to resume work in Egypt. The Delegate of the German Foreign Ministry for Middle Eastern Affairs Philipp Ackermann and Egypt’s Ambassador Badr Abdel-Ati signed the agreement in Berlin. German Ambassador in Egypt Julius Georg Luy depicted the agreement as “an important first step” and highlighted its importance to allow German institutions to resume their work for the benefit of the two countries without facing any obstacles. This agreement functions as an additional protocol to the Cultural Agreement between the governments, signed and ratified by Egypt and Germany in 1959. It will serve as the legal framework for the work of German institutions in Egypt. The statement noted that it is the first step towards solving the case of two employees of the German NGO Konrad Adenauer Foundation who were sentenced in absentia in 2011. Earlier in March, Chancellor Angela Merkel, during her visit to Egypt, said that organising a legal framework for the German civil society work would further create opportunities for bilateral cooperation. She also added that this cooperation will allow individual legal…
