Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi praised Japan's support for his government's development projects after a meeting on Sunday with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Mr Kishida, who is heading his country's delegation at a three-day Egypt-Japan summit in Cairo, held talks with Mr El Sisi at the Al Ittihadiya Presidential Palace, where the two leaders later addressed a joint press conference.
Mr El Sisi singled out Tokyo’s contributions to the yet-to-be-opened Grand Egyptian Museum and co-operation on improving Egypt's education system, while also inviting more Japanese investment in the country.
Egypt began introducing Tokkatsu, a holistic education system developed in Japan, at some schools in 2018, while the Egypt-Japan University for Science and Technology, a joint project between the nations and a number of African countries, began receiving students in 2020.
“These as well as numerous other projects are an attest to the friendship between both our countries,” Mr El Sisi said.
He said foreign investment in Egypt was one of the main topics discussed with the Japanese Prime Minister.
“I have shown Mr Kishida all the economic and legislative reforms we have implemented to improve the investment climate in Egypt over the past few years,” Mr El Sisi said.
“I invite the Japanese government to encourage Japanese companies to bring more investments to Egypt.”
Mr Kishida said he and Mr El Sisi had agreed their countries should co-operate to bring back civilian rule to Sudan, where a war has broken out between the armed forces and a rival paramilitary group.
Condemning the war in Ukraine, Mr Kishida said he had also agreed with Mr El Sisi to “uphold rules-based international order” with regards to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which he said was as "an outrageous act that shakes the very foundations of the international order".
"As a country that has suffered atomic bombings in war, Japan never accepts the threat of nuclear weapons by Russia and they should never be used," he said.
Mr Kishida took office in 2021, following the assassination of Shinzo Abe, a three-time prime minister under whose leadership relations between Tokyo and Cairo grew significantly.
He told reporters before leaving Japan that one of the main objectives of his tour was to build up support for Ukraine ahead of the annual G7 summit on May 19-21. Japan, which holds the G7 presidency this year, will host the summit in the city of Hiroshima.
While Mr Kishida has been vocal about his intentions to rally countries against Moscow's aggression in Ukraine, particularly in the global south, African countries including Egypt have taken a neutral stance on the war to preserve their economic ties with Russia.
Although Egypt and Japan have always enjoyed good bilateral relations, their ties were taken to “broader horizons” in 2015, according to a statement from Japan’s embassy in Egypt.
In January, Japan’s Ambassador to Egypt Oka Hiroshi met with Egypt's minister of public enterprises to discuss expanding economic co-operation between the countries.
Japan’s foreign direct investments in Egypt have doubled over the past year, Mr Hiroshi said in January, highlighting a keenness on the part of Japanese companies to expand into more sectors of the Egyptian economy.
Egypt’s imports from Japan totalled about $709 million in 2022, according to the United Nations Comtrade database on international trade. The most imported item was motor vehicles.
Egyptian exports to Japan totalled about $238 million during the same period, with the fuel oil and other petroleum products making up around $181 million.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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Mobile phone packages comparison
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
more from Janine di Giovanni
Results
2.15pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner: Maqam, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer).
2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner: Mamia Al Reef, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
3.15pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m
Winner: Jaahiz, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.
3.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m
Winner: Qanoon, Szczepan Mazur, Irfan Ellahi.
4.15pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Cup Handicap (TB) Dh200,000 1,700m.
Winner: Philosopher, Tadhg O’Shea, Salem bin Ghadayer.
54.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m
Winner: Jap Al Yassoob, Fernando Jara, Irfan Ellahi.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Wednesday and the pair embraced but he failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Company%20Profile
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group C
Liverpool v Red Star Belgrade
Anfield, Liverpool
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
