Japan Hails Sisi’s Participation as 1st Egyptian President to Attend TICAD

Japan’s ambassador to Cairo Masaki Noki stressed the importance of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's participation, as head of the African Union, in the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7), scheduled to be held in Yokohama City on 28-30 August.

He added that El-Sisi will be the first Egyptian president to attend TICAD conference.

The conference will also be attended by more than 1,500 Japanese and 50 Egyptian businessmen.

The ambassador pointed out that the participation of President El Sisi will be fruitful and important, as he will co-chair the conference’s opening and closing sessions with the Japanese Prime Minister, in addition to his participation in various events held on the sidelines of the conference.

Noki added that Sisi's participation in the TICAD conference would give further impetus to the strong ties between the two countries, especially after the Egyptian President’s recent visit to Japan for the G20 summit and his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

He pointed out that Cairo and Tokyo have a strategic partnership, noting that the latter supports a big number of development projects in Egypt especially in the educational field.

The ambassador pointed out that Egypt is one of the most important development partners to Japan, stressing that Cairo contributes effectively in the efforts of achieving integration, progress and stability, as well as its important role in activating the free trade agreement in Africa.

“Egypt is Japan's third-largest trading partner in Africa and the fourth-largest country hosting Japanese companies,” Noki said, adding that Egypt has undergone significant economic reforms that are greatly still contributing in the improvement of various economic indicators, and thus will allow the entry of more Japanese investment to Egypt.

The Japanese ambassador confirmed that the two countries enjoy a long friendship and that ties were further strengthened by Abe’s visit to Egypt in 2015 followed by the visit of Sisi to Tokyo in 2016.

"Africa is particularly important for promoting global economic growth, and there will be some bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the two summits between Egypt and Japan to push forward relations," Noki added.

"Japanese tourists to Egypt were recorded at 42,000 last year, a number that is expected to increase this year," he said, adding that in July there will be flights between Cairo and Tokyo twice a week.

"The Grand Egyptian Museum represents a symbol of friendship between the two countries because of an exceptional Japanese loan of about US$800 million," Noki said.

"Japanese experts continue to cooperate with Egypt in the restoration and preservation of antiquities," he said.

Japanese investments in Egypt increased to US$162 million in 2017, he said, adding that the TICAD Summit represents an opportunity for Egypt to increase foreign investment.

He stressed the need for a clear and decisive policy by the Egyptian government to facilitate the work of Japanese car manufacturers, adding that the total volume of trade between the two countries amounted to US$1.4 billion in 2017/2018, up 26 percent compared to 2016.