This paper focuses on musical exchange between Germany and the Mashreq region from the 1950s until present time. The emphasis is on music exchange and “music diplomacy” (Davenport 2009) that emerged through long-term interaction at the personal and institutional level in the second half of the twentieth century. These forms of music transfer manifested themselves in the diverse exchange and migration of musicians, texts and objects (Fosler-Lussier 2010). Taking into account formal and informal cultural and knowledge exchange, selected musical actors and institutions are examined as examples of the driving forces behind these interactions. Although music diplomacy between Germany and the eastern Mediterranean region has a long history (Öğüt & Prieske 2024), it has only been researched to a limited extent to date. In my paper, I argue that state-funded institutions like the German Goethe Institutes or German schools in the Eastern Mediterranean act as cultural hubs for international music networking. In countries where there are few state-funded cultural activities, these German institutions play an important role in the local music scene, promoting music in line with Germany’s cultural policies. These processes of music diplomacy and exchange in the Mashreq region are being researched for the first time using archival sources on German and Arab music diplomacy as well as interviews with musicians and former government staff. By combining methods of historic musicology with field research in the Mashreq and Germany, the research highlights the history and continuity of German-Arab cultural ties that are often unknown or have been forgotten.