Ashraf AboArafe
Within the framework of the bilateral meetings held by Dr. Badr Abdel Aati, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs during his current visit to Japan, His Excellency met on August 24 with Mr. Norihiko ISHIGURO, Executive Director of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, stated that Dr. Abdel Aati valued the existing cooperation relations between Egypt and JETRO, stressing its interest in strengthening them in various fields of common interest, noting that Egypt has a great interest in benefiting from Japanese expertise in a large number of fields, most notably information technology, support for small and medium enterprises, renewable energy, and others.
The official spokesman added that the Minister of Foreign Affairs was keen during the meeting to review the overall economic situation in Egypt, highlighting the success of the Egyptian experience in taking steady and rapid steps towards adapting to the pressures imposed by crises on the economy, and at the same time undertaking major and profound economic reforms that led to increasing the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy, empowering the private sector, supporting the green transformation, and mobilizing foreign direct investment, in addition to promoting Egypt as a regional center for supply chains for European companies, and for transporting and trading renewable and green energy.
For his part, the Executive Director of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) welcomed the cooperation that has been ongoing with Egypt for decades, stressing the organization’s intention to continue urging Japanese companies to pump more Japanese investments into Egypt, and to work on deepening economic and trade relations between Egypt and Japan, especially in light of the economic reforms that Egypt has witnessed during the past period.
The official spokesman concluded his statements by pointing out that Dr. Abdel-Ati welcomed the second exploratory visit organized by JETRO to Egypt next month for a group of Japanese companies working in the field of renewable energy and hydrogen, with the aim of completing the exploration of Japanese investment prospects in the field of green hydrogen and renewable energy. He pointed out that the organization’s organization of a similar visit last year, and its keenness to organize another visit during the current year, reflects the interest of the Japanese side and its seriousness in taking real steps towards enhancing its investments in Egypt. Abdel-Ati stressed the readiness of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take all necessary measures to facilitate the delegation’s mission and overcome all obstacles to the success of the visit to achieve its desired goals.
In a related context, the Minister of Foreign Affairs noted the importance of holding an Egyptian/Japanese investment conference, similar to the European Investment Conference hosted by Egypt last June, with the aim of advancing economic and investment cooperation between the two sides to broader horizons, a proposal that the Japanese official welcomed and promised to study, noting JETRO’s great interest in deepening its investment and trade relations with Egypt significantly.
