Egypt to benefit from $17.7bn investment from Japanese companies

Egypt is to benefit from nearly 2 trillion yen ($17.7 bn) of projects from Japanese companies.

The projects to be undertaken by the Japanese firms will be in the electricity and other sectors.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe disclosed this after a meeting with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who is on a working visit to Tokyo.

“The Japan and Egyptian economic cooperation committee has signed an overall 2 trillion yen (US$ 17.7 billion dollars) worth of projects in industries including electric (infrastructure). I welcome this as a new step towards progress in the economic relationship between our two nations” the Japanese premier disclosed after the meeting.

And although the Prime Minister did not elaborate on the projects, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said companies from the two countries are scheduled to sign more than 10 memorandums of understanding on Wednesday March 2.

The announcement comes at a time when Egypt is struggling to revive its economy after the 2011 uprising and subsequent unrest have driven away foreign investors and tourists.

Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr also signed several loan agreements with representatives of the Japanese government and President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Shinichi Kitaoka to facilitate initiatives in the fields of education and energy.

According to an official statement from the Egyptian Cooperation Ministry, the loans will provide a total of $500m.

The loans will finance the construction of a passenger terminal in Borg Al-Arab Airport, increase the efficiency of electricity distribution companies, and fund the construction of a 20MW solar power plant in Hurghada.

Prime Minister Abe’s government drives exports of social infrastructure such as railway systems and power generation systems to the Middle East and other regions as part of its growth strategy.

The leaders agreed to hold dialogue between their Defence and Foreign Ministry officials periodically to strengthen security ties.