Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Egypt’s former Ambassador to Japan Ayman Kamel visited Tokyo last week to receive the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun Gold and Silver Star from Emperor Naruhito.

He was among those who had an audience with the Emperor, who congratulated the dignitaries for the recognition of the services they rendered to Japan. Ambassador Ayman Kamel was the Egyptian Ambassador in Tokyo from 2017 to 2021. 

“I had the chance to witness several important events during this posting, such as the coordination for the joint chairing of the 7th TICAD summit in Yokohama that Egyptian President El-Sisi co-chaired with the late Prime Minister ABE Shinzo,” Ambassador Kamel told Arab News Japan. “Excellent results were achieved in boosting cooperation between Japan and the African continent,” 

Ambassador Kamel also played an active role in securing African and Arab votes for Japan to host Expo Osaka 2025. He was also an active participant in the Osaka G20 Summit in 2019, which Egypt’s President attended as a special guest. 

“During the difficult time of the COVID19 pandemic, we had to ensure the smooth participation of a large Egyptian delegation at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which were postponed till 2021 due to the global lock-down that affected all aspects of life in Japan and elsewhere,” Kamel said. 

After returning to Egypt, Ambassador Kamel was appointed Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs. “However, I have still been looking after relations with Japan and coordinated the upgrade of bilateral ties to the level of Strategic Partnership, which was signed during the visit of former Prime Minister KISHIDA [Fumio] to Cairo in April 2023.”

Currently Ambassador Kamel is representing Egypt as Ambassador in the Central European country of Slovakia.