Dr. Rania El-Mashat, Egypt’s Minister of Planning, held a meeting with Mr. Ebisa Yu, the new Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Egypt. The meeting, attended by Mr. Kato Ken, the outgoing JICA representative, aimed to discuss strengthening future cooperation between Egypt and Japan.
At the start of the meeting, Dr. El-Mashat expressed her gratitude to Mr. Kato Ken for his exceptional leadership during his tenure at JICA in Egypt, which saw significant accomplishments across various sectors, further enhancing Egypt-Japan relations. She also congratulated Mr. Ebisa Yu on his new role, expressing confidence in his ability to advance the partnership between the two countries.
The Minister emphasized the strong ties between Egypt and Japan in various fields of development, whether through bilateral cooperation or multilateral partnerships. She underscored the government’s commitment to expanding these relations to meet Egypt’s developmental priorities.
Dr. El-Mashat highlighted the key achievements made in several sectors, particularly education, transport, and health, which reflect the strong collaboration between Egypt and Japan. She commended Mr. Kato Ken for his instrumental role in supporting major projects over the past three years, such as funding for universal health coverage, a new loan for the fourth phase of Cairo Metro, a grant for the development of the Cairo Opera House, and support for Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture.
Additionally, Dr. El-Mashat referred to several groundbreaking projects that Egypt and Japan have launched and implemented, including the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), the Egyptian-Japanese University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), the National Health Insurance Project, the creation of the Children’s Hospital annex at Cairo University (Abu Reesh), and the first phase of Cairo Metro Line 4.
Another priority in the Egypt-Japan partnership, she added, is empowering the private sector by providing more financing mechanisms for companies, fostering industry localization, enhancing human capital development, supporting digital entrepreneurship, and promoting scientific research. Japanese institutions are actively involved in financing private sector companies, particularly in the energy sector under the “NOUF” program, such as the 500 MW solar power plant in Kom Ombo, Aswan, and the Ras Gharib wind farm project.
Dr. El-Mashat expressed her hope for deeper future cooperation, particularly through the joint announcement of a “Cooperation Strategy between Egypt and Japan” and the release of a comprehensive report on bilateral cooperation at the upcoming Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). She also emphasized the importance of JICA’s continued collaboration with Egyptian ministries to leverage Japanese expertise in artificial intelligence to enhance skills development, economic integration, and infrastructure modernization.
In closing, Dr. El-Mashat reaffirmed Egypt’s profound appreciation for Japan’s ongoing support, which has played a pivotal role in driving sustainable development and solidifying a strong partnership based on mutual respect and shared aspirations. She emphasized Egypt’s commitment to further expanding this cooperation, ensuring the continued growth and evolution of the partnership in line with the priorities of both nations.
