She also pointed out that her government encourages Japanese companies to invest in Egypt and benefit from initiatives launched by Egypt in the public and private sectors.

Hikariko also described Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Egypt as successful and fruitful at all levels, noting that the relations between the two countries had levelled up to the strategic partnership level.

Kishida’s choice to visit Egypt as the first country in his African tour reflects the importance of Egypt to Japan, she noted.

She hailed Egypt’s pivotal role to reach peace and stability in the Middle East and Africa, stressing Japan’s support to Egyptian efforts to calm down the situation in Palestine and reach permanent and just peace as well as working on calming down the situation in Sudan.