Presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali has said that President Mohamed Morsy is flying to Germany on Wednesday and will stay a few hours instead of the projected two days, and that he has canceled a scheduled trip to France.
Ali added that Morsy will be accompanied by the ministers of foreign affairs, industry and international cooperation, as well as his external relations and Egyptian expatriate advisers.
Morsy will be meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel, and attending the Egyptian-German Business Forum where 280 business figures will be in attendance. He is then meeting with the European Parliament speaker and the chairman of the German Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee, before he pays a visit to the Körber Research Foundation and returns to Cairo on the same day.
Ali denied reports that President Mohamed Morsy may cancel his planned visit to Germany. He added, at a press conference earlier Tuesday, that the president’s foreign visits aim to bolster the economy and attract foreign investment.
Sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm earlier today that Morsy may cancel trips to Germany and France, over the recent turmoil in several Egyptian provinces that have left at least 50 dead and hundreds injured.
Morsy had been scheduled to meet Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and members of the Egyptian community on Wednesday and Thursday before heading Friday to France for a meeting with French President Francois Hollande.
Morsy had already cancelled his participation in the African Union's summit in Ethiopia on 26-27 of this month.
Meanwhile, state-run agency MENA reported that Tourism Minister Hesham Zaazou, Investment Minister Osama Saleh and Industry and Foreign Trade Minister Hatem Saleh headed to Berlin earlier on Tuesday to arrange with German officials for Morsy’s visit. MENA reported that a number of bilateral agreements would be discussed.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
