Countries & Regions

On June 2, for about 20 minutes from 4:35 pm, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had a meeting with H.E. Dr. Hisham Mohamed Qandil, Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt, in Yokohama, Japan. The following is the gist of the meeting. Prime Minister Qandil is visiting Japan to participate in the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) held from June 1 to June 3.

1. At the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Abe welcomed Prime Minister Qandil to Japan, and expressed his respect to the people of Egypt for their courage and actions in accomplishing the great feat of revolution. He also expressed his intention to further strengthen cooperation and partnership with Egypt, which is a major power that straddles the Arab and African regions, for the development of Africa. In response, Prime Minister Qandil expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome he received. He also said that all the aids received from Japan are for the benefit of the people of Egypt, and thus, he would like to thank Japan on behalf of the people of Egypt. He also expressed his hope to further strengthen the friendship between the two countries, which has a long history.
2. Prime Minister Abe expressed his respect for the efforts of Prime Minister Qandil toward democratization in Egypt, and expressed his hope to further strengthen the friendship and cooperation between Japan and the new Egypt through active high-profile visits between the two countries, including a visit to Japan by President Morsi. He also said that Japan would continue to provide economic assistance to Egypt, such as providing support to the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) and building a ward for the Cairo University Pediatric Hospital, and requested that necessary measures to implement these projects be likewise taken on the Egyptian side. He also requested continued review of restrictions imposed on import of Japanese products by the Egyptian government.
3. In response, Prime Minister Qandil mentioned that Egypt is taking definitive steps toward democratization, and that House of Representatives elections are scheduled to take place by the end of this year. He also said that Egypt is currently in a difficult period of transition after the revolution, and that he is looking forward to receiving assistance from the international community including Japan, while expressing his strong will to realize the economic and social reform in Egypt. He also expressed his hope that the number of Japanese tourists to Egypt will be recovered, and that investments will be made in Egypt by Japanese enterprises, including those in the development of the Suez Canal area. In addition, Prime Minister Qandil stated his intention to further review the import restrictions on Japanese products.
4. In addition, they exchanged opinions concerning cooperation in the international arena, including the development of Africa.