Egypt’s PM, Tokyo Governor tackle ways of enhancing bilateral ties

CAIRO- 7 November 2024: Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Mabdouly met with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and her accompanying delegation on Thursday, at the government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital.

The  Prime Minister praised the distinguished strategic and historic relations between Egypt and Japan, which are witnessing development in many fields. He also congratulated Ms. Koike on her re-election for the third consecutive time as Governor of Tokyo. 

During the meeting, Madbouly expressed his aspiration to receive the new Prime Minister of Japan as well as Ms. Yuriki Koike at the official opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) when the opening date is set. The GEM has recently opened a new museum that includes 12 galleries showing artifacts dating back to different eras in Egypt’s history. However, the inauguration time of the rest of the other museums (the Tutankhamen Museum and Solar Boats Hall) has not determined yet.

Madbouly explained that the Grand Egyptian Museum project is at the forefront of cooperation projects between Cairo and Tokyo, as well as the Egyptian-Japanese partnership in the field of education, most notably the Egyptian-Japanese schools and the Egyptian-Japanese University of Science and Technology.

The Prime Minister praised the distinguished cooperation with Japan in implementing the Japanese Tokkatsu system, stressing that the Egyptian government has a plan to spread this system in schools.

Additionally, Madbouly shed light on the existing cooperation between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Tokyo Governorate through the "SusHi Tech Tokyo" and "Tokyo Innovation Base" initiatives.

For her part, Ms. Koike praised the bilateral cooperation relations between the Egyptian and Japanese sides, expressing her happiness to visit Egypt, especially since she has unforgettable memories there, as she received her university education at Cairo University.

Koike also praised the Cairo-held 12th session of the World Urban Forum, which enjoys wide global participation.

She also  invited the Prime Minister, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, and a number of Egyptian entities to participate in the next edition of the annual "SusHI Tech Tokyo" forum scheduled to be held in the first half of 2025. She noted that Japan has sought over the past years to be a center for start-ups and an attractive environment for entrepreneurs.

Egyptian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat, who attended the meeting, discussed with Ms. Koike a number of joint cooperation programs in the fields of communications, information technology, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and entrepreneurship. They also discussed ways of exchanging expertise between the two sides in the field of entrepreneurship incubators for small projects.