Japan-Egypt ties maintained in new investment law

CAIRO – 03 June 2017: A new Egyptian investment law will encourage trade activities and maintain Japan’s relations with Egypt, taking into account Egypt’s status as the biggest market in the Middle East, said the Japanese ambassador in Cairo, Takehiro Kagawa.

“I think Egypt will achieve the results it is aiming for from the recent economical reforms,” Kagawa said, adding that the challenges Egypt is facing are difficult, but the economy needs to be rebuilt through a reform policy.

Kagawa also expected the number of tourists coming to Egypt will increase this year compared to the previous, clarifying that 20,000 Japanese tourists visited Egypt last year.

He also praised Egyptian-Japanese relations, saying that last year’s visit by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to Tokyo “has opened new prospects in bilateral ties between the two countries in cultural, political economical and security fields.”

Concerning the terror attacks that recently shook Egypt, Kagawa made assurances that his country “fully supports” Egypt in its fight against terrorism, offering condolences to victims of the deadly Minya attack.

“We were shocked and sad because of the latest terror attack in Minya and we send our condolences to all Egyptians and the martyrs’ families,” Kagawa said.

A total of 29 Copts were killed after gunmen attacked a bus on a religious trip in Upper Egypt’s Minya governorate. The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack and Egyptian retaliatory airstrikes ensued, targeting militant training camps in Derna, Libya.