Japan-Egypt Relations
Japan-Egypt Foreign Ministers’ Telephone Talk
November 14, 2023
On November 14th, commencing at 9:25 p.m. local time (November 15th, 2:25 a.m. Japan Time) for approximately 20 minutes, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who is visiting San Francisco, held a telephone talk with H.E. Mr. Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, to discuss the situation surrounding Palestine and Israel. The overview is as follows:
- At the outset, Minister Kamikawa stated that she had a very candid discussion on the Middle East situation during the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Tokyo last week. She explained to Minister Shoukry that G7 Ministers concurred on (1) the necessity to take emergency action to address the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza strip, in particular the importance of humanitarian assistance, humanitarian pauses and humanitarian corridors for that purpose, (2) the increasing violence to Palestinians by settlers being unacceptable, (3) a "two-state solution" as the only path to a just, lasting and secure peace, and that G7 Foreign Ministers issued the statement as a unified message.
- Minister Kamikawa expressed that Japan has consistently stressed the importance of calming down the situation as soon as possible. She stated that it is necessary to take all possible measures, including humanitarian pauses, in order to prevent harm to civilians in military operations.
- Furthermore, Minister Kamikawa praised Egypt’s significant role in delivering humanitarian aid goods into the Gaza Strip and evacuation of foreign nationals, and thanked Egypt for its support for safe departure of Japanese nationals and their families. In response, Minister Shoukry explained the latest situation on the ground as well as Egypt’s diplomatic efforts.
- The two Ministers concurred on maintaining close cooperation between the two countries toward improving the humanitarian situation and calming down the situation.