Trade exchange between Egypt and Japan rose 30.5 percent during 2018, recording $1.26 billion, compared to $969 million during 2017, the Egyptian Commercial Service Office said. The office added that Egypt's most significant exports to Japan included Petrol, ready-made clothes, carpets, medicinal plants, cotton, vegetables and food products. Egypt's imports from Japan included cars, tractors, machinery, electrical appliances, iron, steel, plastics and articles thereof. Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr met with a high-profile Japanese business delegation on Monday, where they discussed their country's keenness to increase investments in Egypt. The delegation said that Japanese investments in Egypt saw a surge by 74 percent in 2018. Nasr stated that around 23,000 companies have been established, with a total capital of LE 60 billion, since President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi inaugurated the center in February 2018, adding that those new companies secured more than 90,000 jobs, she noted. The delegation comprises a number of representatives of major Japanese companies, including Hiroyuki Ishige, Chairman and CEO of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Yoshifumi Omura, chief Representative of JICA Egypt Office, and a senior managing director at Japan Bank for International Cooperation Yasushi Hasegawa, as well as members of the Egypt-Japan Business Council.
