At Japan-Egypt Summit, Leaders Agree to Uphold Rule of Law

By Hiroyuki Umemoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

13:35 JST, May 1, 2023

CAIRO — With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in mind, Japan and Egypt agreed Sunday to uphold the international order based on the rule of law and not allow unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force.

“Russia’s aggression against Ukraine must not be tolerated,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a joint press conference after his 90-minute talk with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo. “As the only country to have suffered nuclear attack, the threat of nuclear weapons by Russia is unacceptable, much less their use.”

The two leaders confirmed that they would work closely together to swiftly achieve a settlement of the situation in Sudan, where fighting continues between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and to transfer civilian control to the new government.

Japan and Egypt also agreed to cooperate in coping with North Korea’s nuclear and missile issues. Tokyo and Cairo also agreed to upgrade their relationship to that of a strategic partnership.

In the economic field, the two leaders confirmed Japan’s support of a railroad project in the suburbs of Cairo with yen loans and the construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum through official development assistance.

Kishida then sought understanding of Tokyo’s plan to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific that includes the development of high-quality infrastructure.

This was the first visit by a Japanese prime minister to Egypt in over eight years, when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did so in January 2015.