President El-Sisi’s Speech at Joint Press Conference with Japan’s Prime Minister

 "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful" 

Your Excellency Mr. Fumio Kishida,

Prime Minister of Japan

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Allow me, at the outset, to welcome Mr. Fumio Kishida, the Prime Minister of Japan and his accompanying delegation as dear guests of Egypt, at the start of His Excellency the Prime Minister’s tour in a number of countries in the African continent; the tour that is taking place before the G7 Hiroshima Summit that will be hosted in the Japanese city next month, under the chairmanship of Japan. His Excellency, 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.

I would like to emphasize Egypt’s immense appreciation for Japan’s sincere engagement in and contributions to the development process and national projects in Egypt, including the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is considered the world’s largest archeological museum, displaying artifacts dedicated to one civilization. We look forward for His Excellency, the Prime Minister of Japan, to be with us at its inauguration. Other projects include the Egyptian-Japanese schools project, due to see the light in September 2028, which envisages the application in Egyptian schools of Tokkatsu, the Japanese Educational Model of Holistic Education.  This is, in addition to numerous projects, which manifest the friendship between the two countries, including the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology, E-Just, in Borg Al Arab, which is a successful model of the trilateral cooperation between Japan, Egypt and the African brothers. 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

I 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. 

I exchanged views with the Prime Minister of Japan on a number of issues of mutual interest.

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. 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.

I discussed with my dear guest 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. I emphasized to His Excellency, the Prime Minister, 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.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me pleasure, at the conclusion, 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.

Thank you