Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met with Norihiko Ishiguro, CEO of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), on Saturday during his current visit to Japan, signalling a strengthening of economic ties between the two nations.
The meeting, part of a series of bilateral discussions Abdelatty has held during his visit, saw the Foreign Minister commend the strong cooperative ties between Egypt and JETRO, emphasising Egypt’s commitment to strengthening these ties across areas of mutual interest.
Abdelatty highlighted Egypt’s keen interest in leveraging Japanese expertise in various fields, particularly information technology, support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), renewable energy, and other sectors.
During the meeting, Abdelatty reviewed Egypt’s current economic landscape, emphasising the country’s successful adaptation to economic pressures and implementation of significant reforms. These reforms, he said, have enhanced the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy, empowered the private sector, supported the green transition, attracted foreign direct investment, and promoted Egypt as a regional hub for supply chains for European companies and for the transportation and trading of renewable and green energy.
Ishiguro welcomed the longstanding cooperation between Japan and Egypt and reiterated JETRO’s commitment to encouraging Japanese companies to invest further in Egypt. He emphasised the organisation’s desire to deepen economic and trade relations between the two countries, particularly in light of the economic reforms implemented by Egypt in recent years.
Abdelatty welcomed JETRO’s second exploratory visit to Egypt next month, which will bring together Japanese companies working in the field of renewable energy and hydrogen to explore investment opportunities in Egypt’s green hydrogen and renewable energy sectors.
The spokesperson for the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, noted that JETRO’s organisation of a similar visit last year and its intention to organise another visit this year underscores Japan’s interest and commitment to strengthening its investments in Egypt. Abdelatty assured JETRO that the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is committed to facilitating the visit and removing any obstacles to ensure its success.
In related news, the Foreign Minister highlighted the importance of holding an Egyptian-Japanese investment conference, similar to the European Investment Conference hosted by Egypt in June. This conference would aim to elevate economic and investment cooperation between the two countries to new heights. The Japanese official welcomed the proposal and pledged to consider it, emphasising JETRO’s strong commitment to deepening its investment and trade relations with Egypt.
