President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi will visit Japan and South Korea in late February intending to deepen economic cooperation with the two countries during the visit. On Saturday, Egyptian minister of foreign affairs Sameh Shoukry met with his Korean counterpart, Yun Byung-se, to discuss Al-Sisi's upcoming visit, the means of enhancing bilateral relations , and the security tensions in the Korean peninsula. Shoukry met with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, last November and he expressed Egypt's gratitude for Japan's keenness to enhance cooperation with Egypt in various fields in the upcoming period. He said it is Al-Sisi's "aspiration to visit Japan and it is his interest to achieve a breakthrough in the level of relations between both countries." Several energy deals are already scheduled ahead of the visit. A senior official at the Ministry of Electricity told Daily News Egypt last week that it agreed to sign two loans with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The first loan will fund a $50m solar power plant project that will have a capacity factor of 20MW and the second loan will finance the smart grids project. There is also discussion to arrange another loan to finance the replacement and renovation of six power plants. The official also said the Ministry of Electricity plans to sign four memoranda of understanding (MOU) with a number of Japanese companies. The total Japanese investment is estimated at $8bn and will fund the installation of two power plants working with coal, along with a combined cycle power plant, and will make provision for the supply of coal. Source: Daily News Egypt
