Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty says he wants his country to upgrade its relationship with Japan so that it attracts investment rather than aid, citing Egypt’s relationship with the European Union as an example.

“We are no longer interested in a ‘donor-recipient ‘ relationship,” Abdelatty told a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan on Friday.

“We need to focus more and more on investment. This is the most important element and objective, which would be the main outcome of elevating our bilateral relationship into a strategic partnership. It would mean we are partners.”

“We expect to have an annual Egypt-Japan Investment Conference like we have with the United States and now with the European Union,” he said.

Egypt hosted the first-ever investment conference between Egypt and the European Union. Last June, 450 European companies participated and signed contracts worth €30 billion. “That is what we expect from Japan to encourage the private sector to invest,” Egyptian Foreign Minister said.

Abdelatty added that the Egyptian economy is “back on track,” and the economic environment is conducive to expansion and investment. Japan and Egypt have cooperated on several projects recently, notably the Grand Museum and the Peace Bridge over the Suez Canal.

Minister Abdelatty emphasized, “We have a lot of respect for the Japanese in Egypt. We named one of the major axes in Cairo after the late Shinzo Abe, and we will continue to develop a strategic relationship with Japan based on a win-win situation. But we need more investment, more Japanese companies, and more opportunities in Egypt to use.”