Thursday, 25 May 2023, Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt: Premier Dr. Reiner Haseloff received the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt, H. E. Mr Khaled Galal Abdelhamid, for his official inaugural visit to the State Chancellery in Magdeburg.
During the joint talks, among other things, the expansion of bilateral relations between Egypt and Saxony-Anhalt were discussed, and current political issues were exchanged.
The ties between Egypt and Saxony-Anhalt date back to the Middle Ages. In today’s Saxony-Anhalt, for example, the veneration of two Christian saints who originated in Egypt, Mauritius (leader of the Theban Legion) and Catherine (of Alexandria), the two patrons of Magdeburg Cathedral St. Mauritius and Catherine, were particularly pronounced.
Magdeburg Cathedral contains several columns and a fountain fragment from pre-Christian times that is used today as a baptismal font. The material of these ancient spolia – rose porphyry or purple stone – comes from the (Roman) quarries at Mons Porphyrites (Chebel Duchan Mountains) in Egypt.
For further information
Government of Saxony-Anhalt: https://europa.sachsen-anhalt.de/internationales/aktuelles-international/antrittsbesuch-des-botschafters-der-arabischen-republik-aegypten
Embassy of Egypt in Germany: https://egyptian-embassy.de
