Egypt and Japan will sign an urgent $9m grant providing medical equipment to the former's Ministry of Health as the country battles against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The grant will provide medical equipment for chest hospitals across Egypt, according to the country's Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat. During a virtual meeting on Saturday with the Japanese Ambassador to Cairo Masaki Noke, in the presence of the Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Egypt,Yoshifumi Omura, Minister Al-Mashat thanked the government of Japan its continuous support to help Egypt carry out its priorities, particularly in the health sector. Minister Al-Mashat noted that the urgent grant of medical equipment will be provided as soon as her ministry has submitted a request. For his part, the Japanese Ambassador expressed his government's desire to provide the necessary support to Egypt as part of the comprehensive health insurance system in which Japan has played a successful part. He also expressed his country's desire to enhance cooperation with Egypt in this field, both technically and financially. The Japanese government and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are among Egypt's most prominent development partners. The cooperation portfolio between the two countries has reached $2.5bn in major projects, including: the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM); the Egypt-Japan Education Partnership (EJEP); the construction of Cairo's fourth metro line; and the building an outpatient facility for the Abu El-Reesh University Hospital for treating children free of charge.
