Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, the Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, and OKA Hiroshi, Ambassador of Japan to Egypt, held the annual meeting of Egypt-Japan High-Level Policy Dialogue for development cooperation at the headquarters of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation in the New Administrative Capital.
The year 2024 marks the 70th anniversary of the development cooperation between Japan and Egypt that started in 1954, when Japan invited an Egyptian expert to participate in the training course in the field of agriculture in Japan.
Since then, the development partnership between the two countries had expanded continuously. Japan started grant aid in 1973 and yen development finance assistance in 1974.
Subsequently, the office of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Egypt was established in 1977.
Since then, Japan and Egypt have been long-standing partners to support socio-economic development of Egypt and to contribute to peace and stability in the regions of the Middle East and Africa through triangular cooperation.
Over the past 70 years, Japan has always respected the ownership of Egypt and extended cooperation in a manner that takes into account Egypt's development needs.
To date, the total amount of Japan's grant aid and technical cooperation to Egypt amounts to approximately US$ 2.4 billion and yen development finance to US$ 7.2 billion.
The Egypt-Japan High-Level Policy Dialogue is an invaluable platform for Egypt and Japan to jointly develop strategies for future development cooperation in line with the priorities of the Egyptian and Japanese governments, with the participation of Japan's national agencies as development partners, as well as a wide range of Egyptian ministries representing a variety of national goals and needs.
At the Policy Dialogue meeting, the two sides reviewed the progress of ongoing cooperation and expressed satisfaction for the important achievements made in 2023/2024 in the broad-range of cooperation, including quality infrastructure projects such as "Cairo Metro Line4 Phase1," and "Borg El Arab Airport" and the technical cooperation for human capacity development such as preparation for launching a new Japanese educational system "Egypt-Japan KOSEN," improvement of competitiveness of SMEs, improvement of Small-scale Farmers' Market-oriented Agriculture Project (ISMAP), cooperation for Grand Egyptian Museum, as well as Third Country Training Program.
The both sides also shared the view that Egypt and Japan will strengthen their development cooperation in a strategic manner, now that the two countries are strategic partners, by exploring new opportunities for cooperation, including supporting innovation and green transition.
In this regard, Dialogue meeting appreciated the valuable contribution Human Resources Development Program (HRDP) has been making for human talent development and recognized its further opportunities.
Dialogue also welcomed the unique value of Science and Technology Research Partnership Sustainable Development (SATREP) cooperation which supports innovative joint research between Egypt and Japan to bring practical benefits to address the socio-economic challenges.
The Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation started the meeting by welcoming the senior officials and the representatives from the Embassy of Japan, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), and representatives of various Egyptian authorities, namely the Ministries of Electricity, Communication & Information Technology, Health , Irrigation, ITIDA and Cairo University Specialized pediatric hospital representatives "Abou El Reesh" Hospital.
The Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat noted that, "The Egypt - Japan High-Level Policy Dialogue coincides with the 70th anniversary of our development cooperation, a testament to our shared vision and commitment in strengthening bilateral ties.
Our partnership is particularly focused on investing in people through education and health, quality growth through the green transition and infrastructure development, and sustainable and socioeconomic development.
Regularly holding our joint policy dialogue helps foster collaborative exchange and strategize future development initiatives in priority sectors, as well as exploring new opportunities through south-south and triangular economic cooperation and increasing private sector engagement."
Ambassador Oka thanked the initiative taken by Minister Al-Mashat to hold the third High-Level Policy Dialogue to further promote development partnership through synergizing Japan's cooperation and Egypt's national priorities, such as Agenda 2030, NWFE, and human capital development.
The Ambassador appreciated significant achievement over the 70th years of development cooperation between Japan and Egypt which had contributed to the socio-economic development of Egypt as well as human talent development.
The Ambassador also expressed his expectation that the cooperation between the two countries will be carried out in a strategic manner, following the strategic partnership agreed by the leaders of both sides last year, including by starting new areas of cooperation in response to the rapid technological development and enhancing triangular cooperation for Africa and the Middle East, thanking in this regard valuable partnership with EAPD.
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KATO Ken, Chief Representative of JICA Egypt Office, explained JICA's cooperation towards Egypt, focusing on thematic cooperation areas such as Industry and Private Sector Development, Human Resources Development, Climate Change, Linking Innovative Research with Society Development through SATREPS, Universal Health Coverage, in line with Egypt's national goals such as Localization of Industries, Human Capital Development, NWFE initiative.
KITAMURA Kenichiro, Chief Representative for the Middle East Representative Office in Dubai of JBIC, highlighted JBIC financings to implement the NWFE program and presented the engagements and contributions of Japanese companies in the green energy sector in the Middle East, with the willingness to extend these achievements to Egypt and more to African countries through triangular cooperation.
NISHIZAWA Shigeyo, Managing Director of JETRO Cairo Office, explained their function that supports Japanese private companies operating in Egypt or seeking opportunities through the daily basis consultation, business missions on renewable energy and water infrastructure, Japan pavilion in the Africa Health ExCon, as well as the platform scheme for Japanese start-ups and Venture capitals.
Celebrating the 70th anniversary of Japan's cooperation towards Egypt, the two sides renewed their will to further enhance strategic cooperation between the two countries.
