Rev. Dr. Andrea Zaki, President of Protestant Churches in Egypt, head of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services, ended his visit last week to Sweden and Germany after meeting some prominent leaders in civil society and leaders of the Arab Protestant Churches.
During his visit to Sweden, Zaki met Archbishop Antje Jackleen, Archbishop of Sweden. A dialogue took place on the Arab region's most serious situations and the active role played by Egypt in light of the challenges facing Arab Christians and the decisive role of Egyptian Christians. The Evangelical President presented the Archbishop of Sweden the invitation to visit Egypt. He also met with the Ambassador of Interfaith Dialogue at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs MS Ulrika Sundberg. The dialogue dealt with several issues. The most important are the region's challenges and Egypt's crucial role as a model for co-existence, what has been accomplished in the church building law, and the importance of activating dialogue and community peace as a necessity in light of the tensions the region is going through.
In Berlin, Germany, Zaki met with several influential leaders, most notably the Director of the Middle East at the Ministry of International Cooperation (BMZ), Prof. Dr. Claudia Warning, President of Civil Society Organizations, and the Church Dr. Bernhard Felmberg.
The President of the Protestant Churches in Egypt presented the role of the Egyptian state in facing economic challenges and the steps taken by the state in liberalizing the economy in order to support the most vulnerable segments of poverty, and also regarding developments in the amendment of the Civil Associations Law and the future vision of civil society in Egypt.
In the same context, the President of the Protestant Churches met with the new Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Berlin Dr. Christian Stablein, and Deputy Chairman of the Governmental Committee for Freedom of Religions Dr. Maren KoB, where the dialogue touched on the pivotal role played by Egypt in the Middle East, the importance of Germany's support in achieving stability in the region, and the importance of the role of civil society in supporting issues of co-existence.