CAIRO, April 8 (MENA) - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty discussed during a phone call he received Tuesday from Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya efforts to consolidate ceasefire agreement in Gaza and bring Israeli escalation and brutal aggression against the Palestinian people to a halt.

They also discussed an Arab plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the conference scheduled to be hosted by Cairo for the reconstruction of Gaza.

Official Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ambassador Tamim Khallaf said the foreign minister voiced his appreciation of written letter he received from the Japanese foreign minister recently thanking Egypt for its efforts regarding medical evacuation of wounded Palestinians to receive treatment in Japan.

For his part, the Japanese foreign minister expressed the Japanese side's appreciation for Egypt for taking the initiative regarding the reconstruction plan in Gaza, voicing hope the plan would lead to sustainability, calm and reconstruction, the spokesman said.

Takeshi underlined the importance of Egyptian mediation efforts, hoping to resume negotiations and enhance access of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, added the spokesman.

He affirmed Japan's determination to continue medical evacuation of wounded and injured Palestinians and engage with active parties to achieve security and stability in the region, according to the spokesman.

Meantime, the Egypt foreign minister touched on the distinguished bilateral relations between Egypt and Japan, expressing keenness on developing the various aspects of cooperation, along with participating in the round of strategic dialogue between the two countries scheduled to be held in June 2025, he said.

Abdelatty also confirmed Egypt's intention to participate in the activities of the TICAD summit, which is scheduled to be hosted by Japan, in August 2025, highlighting Egypt's interest in discussing issues of joint interest between Japan and Africa, mainly economic and development issues, the spokesman added.

The foreign minister affirmed Egypt’s interest in strengthening economic, trade and investment relations with the Japanese side, with a view to boosting investments of Japanese companies in Egypt and allows them to benefit from promising investment opportunities in Egypt, especially in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, he said.

Thanks to Egypt’s distinguished geographical location, Egypt enjoys easy and rapid access to European, Asian and African markets, in a way that achieves the common interest of both sides, Abdelatty said, according to the spokesman.

As for the level of cooperation in the field of culture and education, the foreign minister expressed Egypt's aspiration for high-level Japanese participation in official opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) set for July, especially in light of Japanese contribution in establishing the museum, he said.

Abdelatty also touched on the recent visit of Minister of Education and Technical Education Mohamed Abdel Latif to Tokyo to get acquainted with Japanese expertise in the various education systems, the spokesman added.

The foreign minister also underscored Egypt's great interest in enhancing joint cooperation with the Japanese side in the field of education, especially with regard to applied technology schools and higher technical education schools, in addition to the Egyptian-Japanese University for being considered among the most important fruits of Egyptian-Japanese cooperation in the field of education, he added. (MENA)

S A S/M O H