Japan-Egypt Relations

On August 28, commencing at 10:35 a.m. for approximately 25 minutes, Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, held a Summit Meeting with H.E. Mr. Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi，President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, who is visiting Japan to attend the TICAD 7. The overview of the meeting is as follows. The meeting was attended by Mr. Yasutoshi Nishimura, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Eiichi Hasegawa, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, Mr. Hiroto Izumi, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister and others on Japanese side, and H.E. Mr. Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Japan and others on Egyptian side.

1. At the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Abe welcomed President’s visit to Japan following G20 Osaka Summit meeting in the end of June, and stated that Japan attaches importance to cooperation with Egypt as a regional power. He also expressed his gratitude for leadership of Egypt as the Chair of the African Union in the preparation phase of the TICAD 7, and expressed his willingness to lead the discussions in TICAD 7 with President El-Sisi. Both leaders confirmed their cooperation for the success of TICAD 7. 
2. Prime Minister Abe stated that he was pleased that both countries announced enhanced cooperation for the African development under the Japan-Egypt Triangular Cooperation Program at TICAD 7 co-chaired by Egypt, and stressed his intention to expand the scholarship program at Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) to include 150 African postgraduate students under the collaboration between Japan and Egypt. PM Abe also stated that we would newly establish “Japan-Egypt Business and Investment Promotion Committee, in addition to the existing Japan-Egypt Business Council (JEBC) which aims at business networking, and we would like to seek further support from Egyptian Government in improving the investment environment, which will further promote Japanese companies’ investment to Egypt. Furthermore, he stated that we would like to ask your continuous support towards removal of all the import restrictions on Japanese food products imposed after the Great East Japan Earthquake. In response, President El-Sisi stated that we would like to make efforts in this matter.
3. Both leaders shared the view to work toward strengthening bilateral cooperation, including cooperation for the Grand Egyptian Museum and Japanese-style education.
4. Furthermore, both leaders exchanged views on the issue of North Korea. President El-Sisi stated that Egypt fully understand the Japanese position and would like to express absolute solidarity with Japan on this issue, including the abduction issue.