The ambassador’s remarks came during a meeting with Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait that was held on Monday between the two sides in the finance ministry’s HQ in Cairo.

The ambassador also told Maait that the business community in Japan is satisfied with Egypt’s advanced cargo information system and its positives impacts on the trade flow between the two countries.

Egypts ACI system came into effect as of 1 October 2021 and was designed to provide public and private trade operators with holistic electronic cargo information prior to the arrival of shipments to the country of importation in order to facilitate processing and clearance procedures.

The system was adopted under Egypt’s strategy of digital transformation, which is in line with Egypt’s 2030 Vision and its sustainable development goals agenda.

“Egypts economic scene is significantly different from what I had witnessed during my previous visit to the country 40 years ago. Egypt implemented a gross upgrade process over all sectors. The country is also an imperative player regionally and continentally, and Japan is keen on cooperation with Egypt,” the ambassador explained to Maait.

For his part, Maait told Hiroshi that Egypt seeks to create an attractive climate for both domestic and foreign investments as well as eliminate any sort of hurdles investors may face in the local market.

He also noted that there are promising opportunities for Japanese companies in Egypt; particularly in electric automotive manufacturing, in light of the state’s efforts to make its transportation system more eco-friendly.

Furthermore, Maait praised the collaboration between the two countries in the education sector, which is reflected in the Japanese schools and university sponsored by Japan in Egypt.

The minister also hailed Japan’s support for Egypt’s Universal Health Insurance System as well.

Additionally, the two sides discussed the possibility of issuing Egyptian bonds in the Japanese market, for the first time ever, under Egypt’s plan to enter new capital markets by issuing medium- and long-term bonds, including green, sustainability, and gender equality bonds.

Egypt plans to issue its first ever sovereign Islamic bonds (sukuk) during 2022 with a total worth of up to $2 billion and issue a second set of green bonds as well.