West Germany’s envoy to Cairo, Ambassador Georg Federer, arrived here today to report to Chancellor Ludwig Erhard on a conversation he held two days ago with Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser concerning the latter’s invitation to Walter Ulbricht, Communist East Germany’s chief of state, to make a state visit to Egypt. Information from Cairo indicated that Dr. Federer had found his talk with Nasser unsatisfactory.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Erhard met here with the parliamentary leaders of all three political parties in the Bundestag, lower house of Parliament, and a unanimous decision was taken by all participants on the action to be taken by the Government if the Ulbricht visit to Cairo materializes.
A leading member of the Social Democratic faction in the Bundestag, Dr. Wischnewski, who is also a member of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee, proposed today that an immediate investigation be made about which of the West German aid programs to Egypt should be halted as a result of the projected Ulbricht visit to Cairo.
He also proposed that funds now earmarked for aid to Egypt’s new, five-year economic development program be given, instead, to other Arab countries. He suggested dropping of all military aid to Israel, but, on the other hand, advocated German exchange of diplomatic relations with Israel although, he added, “the timing should be chosen carefully.”
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