President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received, 30-4-2023, at Al-Ittihadiya Palace Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Fumio Kishida, who chooses Egypt as his first destination at the start of his Africa tour.
Japanese prime minister's African tour came before preparation for the G7 Hiroshima Summit - scheduled to be held on 19-25 May.
While he summit talks there was an agreement on promoting relations between Egypt and Japan to the level of strategic partnership, as a culmination of an extended process of the historical relations between the two friendly countries.
The two sides focused on ways to foster closer bilateral cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the fields of investment, trade, education, health, information technology, transport, and renewable energy, as well as the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is a milestone in the fruitful development cooperation between the two countries.
The talks also touched on ongoing efforts to preserve and consolidate peace and security at the international level. The two sides exchanged views on a multitude of issues, including the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, strengthening multilateral diplomatic action and reforming the United Nations and the Security Council's system.
The discussions also covered developments in a number of regional issues, particularly the Palestinian cause and the Renaissance Dam.
On Sudan, the two sides were aligned with regard to the need to achieve and firm-up the ceasefire, push forward efforts toward political dialogue and complete the transitional phase. The Japanese Prime Minister valued Egypt's assistance in evacuating Japanese nationals from Sudan, and expressed sincere condolences to the government and people of Egypt over the death of the member of the Egyptian diplomatic mission in Khartoum, who was martyred in the course of his duty.
After their talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing ceremony of a number of memoranda of understanding ( MoUs) and agreements between Egypt and Japan in the sectors of communications and information technology, legal and judicial affairs, Cairo Metro Line 4- Phase 1, as well as the partnership between the Ministry of International Cooperation and Japan Bank for International Cooperation. The signing ceremony was followed by a joint press conference.
President El-Sisi's Speech at Joint Press Conference with Japan's Prime Minister
President El-Sisi expressed Egypt's deep appreciation for Japan's support for national projects such as the Grand Egyptian Museum and Egyptian-Japanese schools, confirming: "The Prime Minister's visit is also his first to Egypt since assuming his post, thus reflecting mutual interest, between Egypt and Japan, to build on their historical friendship relations, at both the official and popular levels".
President El- Sisi welcomed Mr. Fumio Kishida, the Prime Minister of Japan and his accompanying delegation as dear guests of Egypt, as it is also his first to Egypt since assuming his post, thus reflecting mutual interest, between Egypt and Japan,
El- Sisi reviewed with Mr. Kishida the economic, legislative and structural reforms adopted as part of efforts toward creating a conducive business environment and improving the investment climate in Egypt over the past years. This is, in addition to the incentives and guarantees ensured by the Egyptian law for investors, as well as the promising investment opportunities offered in Egypt in various fields. I invited the government of Japan to encourage Japanese companies to inject more investments into Egypt.
Mr President Said: "Our discussions were positive and constructive, and we reviewed challenges on the international scene today, primarily the enormous economic repercussions of the Ukrainian crisis on developing countries, which exceeded those caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, in terms of the rise in inflation rates and energy and food prices, in addition to expectations of a slowdown in growth rates".
He added: "I confirmed to the Prime Minister of Japan our aspirations for the development partners, particularly Japan being a leading country in its contributions to international development and in its capacity as current Chair of the Group of Seven Industrialized Countries, the G7, to work on giving these urgent economic challenges the same attention as the political and security aspects of the Ukrainian crisis. We hope a settlement will be reached through exploring ways to mitigate the exceptional challenges facing a number of developing countries".
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The two sides discussed a multitude of regional issues of common concern, particularly the Palestinian issue, the situation in Libya and developments in Sudan, which occupied an important part of our talks, emphasized Egypt's vision that is based on the need for an immediate, permanent and comprehensive ceasefire in Sudan, and the importance for any external party to refrain from interfering in the crisis, which is a purely Sudanese matter, confirming that this will facilitate defusing the conflict and preventing its exacerbation.
President El- Sisi cocncluded his speech saying: "It gives me pleasure to once again confirm to Mr. Kishida Egypt's commitment to enhancing and fostering closer cooperation between the two countries as a natural result of their remarkable relations, and underscore my confidence in the reciprocal commitment of the State of Japan. His presence with us today is a clear testimony to that. Once again, I would like to welcome His Excellency and his accompanying delegation as dear guests of Egypt, wishing them a pleasant stay on its land".
