The Minister of Trade and Industry, Amr Nassar, met with a delegation of Japanese businesspersons visiting Egypt currently to discuss the importance of enhancing the Egyptian-Japanese cooperation in industry in Africa through the establishment of industrial partnerships between the public and private sectors in the continent. Nassar called on the Japanese businesspersons to use the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) that Japan will host in August, to promote political dialogue between Africa and Japan. “The current trend of the government aims to promote the automotive industry and its supplementary industries, in order to meet the needs of the domestic market, as well as increasing the export rates," Nassar said, urging Japanese companies to invest in the automotive field. The minister added that the Japanese side is considering the establishment of a Japanese industrial zone in Egypt in the Gulf of Suez Economic Zone. The proposed zone will include a number of Japanese industrial giants, pointing out that the project will enhance the industrial cooperation between Egypt and Japan, as well as transmitting the Japanese experience to Egypt. During the Egyptian-Japanese Business Forum to be held on Monday, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed between the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) to exchange experience and information regarding trade and industry in each country. The Japanese ambassador to Egypt, Masaki Noke, said that his country is keen to deepen ties with Egypt at all levels, pointing out that the Japanese business community recognises the positive change witnessed by the Egyptian economy. Chairperson of the Japan-Egypt Business Council, Satoshi Ozawa, stressed Japan's keenness to increase the number of Japanese companies operating in Egypt, which are only 50 companies, adding that Japanese companies accompanying the delegation would like to identify the areas they can invest in the Egyptian market. JETRO's Chairperson, Hiroyuki Ishige, pointed out that the organisation is keen to transfer its expertise to the Egyptian government in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) development, which is a priority for the Egyptian government, as about 99.7% of the economy is based on SMEs. A delegation of Japanese companies is currently visiting Cairo to participate in the 11th Conference of the Joint Japan-Egypt Business Council and the Egyptian-Japanese Investment Forum.
