Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi received on Sunday at his residence here Japanese Prime Minister Shenzo Abe in the presence of the delegations from the two countries.

In statements on Sunday, Presidential Spokesman Ambassador Alaa Youssef said the Egyptian president asserted that Egypt cherishes its close ties with Japan, a matter which has been reflected through his meetings with the Japanese premier for the third time in less than two years.

Sisi pointed out that Egypt was looking forward for pushing ahead such relations to wider scopes and beefing up cooperation, especially in the economic and investment domains.

Egypt is looking forward to luring more Japanese investments especially in view of the good reputation of the Japanese companies in Egypt, the president said.

Sisi also noted that Egypt was deeply interested in drawing on Japan's expertise in the field of education, noting that Japan's pioneering experiment in this field has much contributed to its development march.

The president also referred to the possibility of bolstering joint cooperation in carrying out a number of development projects in Africa through a cooperation mechanism between The Japan International Cooperation Agency and Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD), citing the success of Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) which was recently held in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Japanese premier, for his part, praised the strength and depth of relations binding Japan and Egypt, noting the outcome of the recent visit made by Sisi to Japan and the address he delivered at the Japanese parliament, said the spokesman.

Shenzo also underscored the importance of enhancing cooperation in the cultural, scientific and technological domains in view of the great civilization enjoyed by both countries and their great potentials in activating such fields of cooepration, added the spokesman.

The Japanese premier also asserted that his country would continue supporting the project of the Egyptian-Japanese university for science and technology as well as the Grand Egyptian Museum whose first phase is due to be opened in 2017. 

The meeting also took up exchanging viewpoints on a number of regional and international issues of common interest, especially the Palestinian issue, said the spokesman, adding that the Japanese premier praised President Sisi's efforts to review peace talks.

Talks also covered means of beefing up cooperation in the fight against terrorist, negotiations on reform and expansion of the UN Security Council as well as the situation in East Asia region.

Source: MENA