 Bilateral relations between and are warm and friendly and have a long tradition. Due to its significance as the most populated Arab country in the inter-regional triangle in the area, , and the , has become an indispensable partner for political dialogue. On the other hand, is one of 's most important partners in the European Union. Both states exercise considerable influence in organisations and bodies such as the United Nations. Thus co-operation in international multilateral organisations has become a major force of our mutual relations.
The large number of mutual official visits indicates the lively exchange between our countries. Since 2000, we witnessed the visits of President Johannes Rau, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, Minister of Defence Rudolf Scharping, Minister for Economic Cooperation, Heidemarie Wieczorek Zeul, as well as Speaker of the Bundestag Wolfgang Thierse. President Mubarak visited the Federal Republic of Germany in February 2003 for the last time. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer's most recent visit to was on December 15th / 16th, 2003.
In addition to this, there have been numerous contacts on the state and communal level. The partnership between and as well as the partnership between the district Amberg-Sulzbach and Qalioubiya are some examples for this.
Autumn 2003 witnessed a particularly intense phase in bilateral activities. The opening of the German University Cairo (GUC) by Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schr?der together with President Hosny Mubarak was the highlight. During the month of October, a three week German Festival with numerous outstanding cultural events took place. The interest in , its civilization, its domestic political development and the role it plays in the dialogue with islamic culture and values is unebated in . Issues such as democracy, participation of the people in decision making processes, protection of human rights, especially of women, and the values of Islam are key issues in bilateral contacts. We want to intensify the dialogue about these subjects.
A further indicator for the close network of relations between the two countries are the numerous German institutions represented in .
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