Egypt's Minister of Education and Technical Education, Mohamed Abdel Latif, has signed a Letter of Intent with Abe Toshiko, Japan's Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), to broaden cooperation mechanisms in education, enhance support for persons with disabilities, and establish new partnerships in technical education and vocational training. The signing ceremony took place at the headquarters of Japan's Ministry of Education on the sidelines of Abdel Latif's participation in the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), held in Yokohama from 20 to 22 August. Abdel Latif affirmed the Ministry's commitment to building on the achievements of existing cooperation, particularly the Egyptian–Japanese Schools project, which he said will be highlighted during TICAD9 as a successful model that could be replicated across African countries. He expressed satisfaction at expanding the scope of collaboration to include greater support for students with disabilities and stronger partnerships in technical and vocational training, with a focus on transferring Japanese expertise in key areas such as agriculture. During the meeting, Abdel Latif also extended an official invitation to his Japanese counterpart to attend the inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum. For her part, Abe Toshiko welcomed the signing of the Letter of Intent, describing it as the outcome of continuous cooperation and joint efforts since Abdel Latif's visit to Japan last February. She reaffirmed her Ministry's full support for agreements signed between Egypt's Ministry of Education and Japanese partners such as Yamaha, Casio, and Sprix, noting that Tokyo remains keen to launch new initiatives, particularly in technical education and in supporting students with special needs. The Japanese minister further praised the Egyptian–Japanese Schools initiative, stressing her country's pride in this pioneering project. She revealed that the initiative will be featured as a showcase model at the "EDUPORT" pavilion of Japan's Ministry of Education during TICAD9, highlighting it as an inspirational example of international cooperation in education.
