In this photo provided by Egypt s presidency media office, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, greets Japan s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, at the Presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, April 30, 2023.AP
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio arrived in Egypt on Saturday for a three-day visit as part of his four-nation Africa tour, his first visit to the region since taking office in October 2021, according to Presidential Spokesman Ahmed Fahmy.
In addition to his visit to Egypt, Kishida's African tour includes Ghana, Kenya, and Mozambique. It lasts until 5 May to demonstrate Japan's commitment to the international order based on the rule of law in preparation for the G7 Hiroshima Summit – scheduled to be held on 19-25 May – and strengthen cooperation on global issues, according to the embassy of Japan in Cairo.
In his speech, El-Sisi expressed Egypt’s deep appreciation for Japan's support for national projects such as the Grand Egyptian Museum and Egyptian-Japanese schools.
During their meeting, the two heads of state reviewed the economic, legislative, and structural reforms implemented in Egypt over the past years to stimulate the business and investment climate, El-Sisi said.
El-Sisi also laid out the incentives and guarantees provided by Egypt for investors, as well as promising investment opportunities in various fields, and invited the Japanese government to encourage Japanese companies to invest more in Egypt.
Cooperation, projects and investments
According to a recent Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) report, Japanese investments in Egypt reached $73.7 million during FY2021/2022, up from $37.1 million the previous year, an increase of 98.7 percent.
Over the past few years, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has increased its support for development projects in Egypt.
This includes a $301 million loan approved in December 2022 for developing Egypt's fourth metro line and a $336 million agreement signed in February of this year to support the Universal Health Insurance System (UHIS) over seven years.
In March, a $3.8 million grant aid was signed by Japan and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to boost food security in Egypt.
Diplomatic relations between Egypt and Japan
Japan and Egypt maintain friendly relations, with Japan recognising Egypt's importance for Middle East stability.
The relations between the two countries have been strengthened through increased political, economic and cultural exchanges, including visits from Prime Minister Abe Shinzo to Egypt in 2015 and President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to Japan in 2016.
There have been frequent exchanges at the ministerial and leadership level, such as the visit by Egypt’s former Speaker of Parliament Ali Abdel-Aal and his parliamentary delegation to Japan in 2017 and the visit by Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Motegi Toshimitsu to Egypt in August 2021 for bilateral meetings with President El-Sisi and Foreign Minister Shoukry.
More to follow...
Short link: