A meeting with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi would have “no basis,” Bundestag President Norbert Lammert told the German news agency (DPA) Wednesday.
“I would have liked that cooperation between the parliaments of both countries would be possible, but now in Egypt, there is neither a parliament nor a concrete view on relevant elections,” he said.
Last week, Lammert called off a meeting with Sisi, citing “human rights violations” in Egypt. The meeting was scheduled during the Egyptian president’s two-day visit to Berlin at an invitation by Chancellor Angela Merkel. For its part, Egypt said it “did not ask for the meeting.”
Other than that no date has been set for Egypt’s parliamentary elections, the German parliament’s chairman criticized “mass arrest” of opposition groups, long-term jail sentences, and the “incredible” number of death sentences
“The situation does not contribute to domestic peace in the country or to democratic development,” Lammert told DPA, adding that “close relations between our federal government and the government of an important country in an important region is desirable and necessary.”
Germany was among several European countries that condemned the military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in 2013 after mass protests against his one-year rule.
Some 80 German companies participated in the Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) in March in Sharm al-Sheikh; most notably Siemens, which will execute electricity projects in Egypt at a cost of $2.2 billion.
