Japan-Egypt Relations

On September 11, from 5:30 p.m. for approximately 50 minutes, H.E. Mr. Taro Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with H.E. Mr. Sameh Shoukry, Foreign Minister of Arab Republic of Egypt, during his visit to Egypt. The overview is as follows.

1. In the beginning, Minister Shoukry welcomed Minister Kono on his visit to Egypt and said that he welcomes the development of Japan-Egypt relations in various fields in past few years, expressing his gratitude to the support from Japan for the construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum and in the field of education. 
2. In response, Minister Kono expressed his pleasure to revisit Egypt as Minister for Foreign Affairs and said that Egypt, as a leading power of the Middle Eastern region and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, plays an important role. Minister Kono expressed his desire to work closely with Egypt regarding issues that international community face, including North Korea. Furthermore, Minister Kono mentioned the importance of maintaining the unrestrictive and open maritime order in all regions from Asia-Pacific to Middle East and Africa, as well as the importance of exerting the greatest pressure possible upon the threat of nuclear weapons and missiles of North Korea and asked for the support from Egypt. 
3. In response, Minister Shoukry stated that he welcomes the First Japan-Arab Political Dialogue to be held at the Headquarter of League of Arab States as it shows that Japan pays great attention to the development of Arab region, and stated that he strongly condemns the recent provocative acts conducted by North Korea, stating that he understands the stance of Japan who experienced the tragedy of the use of nuclear weapon and expressed his desire to work closely on the discussion at UN Security Council.