Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japan will provide Egypt with aid of 372 million yen (about $3.6 million) to help curb the outflow of plastic waste into the environment – especially in the Red Sea – as well as develop new industries and contribute to the realization of sustainable growth and job creation in the country.

According to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, documents were exchanged on March 9 in Cairo by Japan’s Ambassador to Egypt, Masaki Noke, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) representative, Basel al-Hatives.

The aid comes at a time when the concern is high over global environmental pollution caused by marine plastic waste that adversely affects ecosystems, living environments, fisheries, tourism, etc. This has been an important and urgent issue at international conferences and at the United Nations.

“Egypt has a population of about 100 million and has strong economic activity but poor waste management,” the statement said. “It is considered to be one of the world’s leading sources of marine plastic waste.” In addition, tourism is one of the country’s major industries and the Red Sea coast is also one of the world’s leading diving spots, so plastic waste countermeasures in the country have become an important issue in promoting sustainable tourism.”

The Japanese aid will help Egypt obtain packaging technology equipment with low plastic waste emissions, transfer technology for applying alternative materials for disposable plastics and packaging technology with low environmental impact. It will also help with Egypt’s capacity for promoting resource recycling.

At the 2019 G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan shared the “Osaka Blue Ocean Vision,” which aims to eliminate new marine plastic waste by 2050.