Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi received Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida at the Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo, on Sunday. The Egyptian-Japanese summit witnessed an agreement to raise relations between Egypt and Japan to the level of strategic partnership, as a culmination of an extended process of renewed historical relations between the two friendly countries. Ahmed Fahmy, the official spokesperson for the Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt, stated that the two sides also discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of investment and trade, education, health, information technology, transportation, and renewable energy, as well as the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is a landmark of fruitful development cooperation between the two countries. The talks also touched on the ongoing efforts to maintain and consolidate peace and security at the international level, as views were exchanged on several issues, including the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, strengthening multilateral diplomatic action and reforming the United Nations system and the UN Security Council. Fahmy added that the meeting has also touched on the developments of several regional issues, especially the Palestinian Cause and the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. With regard to the situation in Sudan; the two sides agreed on the necessity of achieving and stabilizing the cease-fire, advancing efforts at political dialogue and completing the transitional phase. In this regard, the Japanese Prime Minister appreciated the assistance provided by Egypt to evacuate Japanese nationals from Sudan, extending his sincere condolences to the Egyptian government and people for the murder of a member of the Egyptian diplomatic mission in Khartoum in the course of his duty. The spokesperson added that the two leaders witnessed, after the end of the talks, the signing ceremony of a number of memorandums of understanding and agreements between Egypt and Japan in the sectors of communications and information technology, legal and judicial affairs. Agreements also included the first phase of the fourth metro line, as well as the partnership between the Ministry of International Cooperation and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
