On 4^th March 2018, the Council hosted the Japanese Ambassador in Cairo- Mr. Taki Hiro, to discuss a number of regional and international issues as well as the bilateral cooperation between the two countries; the meeting was chaired by Amb. Dr. Mounir Zaharan– the chairman, Amb. Dr. Ezzat Saad – the Director of the council, and a number of members, experts, and academicians.

The meeting focused on the following points:

The Japanese Ambassador confirmed that the world is currently facing two contradictory processes which are globalization and nationalism, he clarified that the best solution to overcome this dilemma is develop an international relations regarding to the principle of achieving a mutual benefits and building on the globalization benefits, especially on the economic level.

The vision of the Japanese government based on implementation of peace and stability in the world, by playing a positive role, and cooperating with allies, especially the United States, as well as international organizations within a regional framework and solving the situation in the Middle East. Furthermore, strengthen the cooperation between the countries, in the field of freedom and economic openness, in addition to support the relevant regional and international organizations such as; the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which includes the ASEAN countries, and there are six countries outside of the group like; Australia, India, Japan, China, South Korea and New Zealand.

– On the regional issues, Japan is keen to achieve peace and stability in South China Sea region, and resolving the dispute between the two Koreas peacefully, as well as achieving the stability in the Middle East, especially in Middle East as is an important region with enormous economic and human power.

– In the context of directions above, Mr. Taki Hiro discussed the Japanese initiative which known as the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”, which is based on the following aims:

– Play a key role in improving a global communication by creating a stable global environment to counter the terrorism in the developing countries which suffered a lot from it, and this will be through the international cooperation.

– Japan aims through the Global Compact for development to achieve equality in the development process and in the distribution of economic returns in order to achieve a mutual benefit.

– work to achieve the Global Compact for development goals, ensuring the promotion of service sectors to strengthen community development, achieve gender equality, and contribute to develop the education and health sectors, environmental issues and  Managing risk in the face of climate change.

– Through this initiative, Japan also keen to build frameworks for bilateral cooperation at all levels, through cooperation with the public and private sectors, and civil society organizations, and encouraging developing countries to work with them to achieve stability.

– The strategy consists of two main axes:

The first:  promoting the cooperation between the Asian and African continents, within the framework of expectations for high rates to achieve an economic growth within the two continents.

The second: move freely between the Pacific and Indian oceans, and promote the stability and development in the region as a whole.

– Economic openness, and economic grouping formed with countries in manufacturing processes contributes to maximizing economic returns and reducing production costs. This means that each country will take advantage of its economic potential and specialize in specific industries. It is necessary to engage in negotiations to develop agreements on these disciplines and future plans. To achieve this, Japan will work in cooperation with certain regions to become a gathering point for the re-export of goods and services.

– He concluded his speech by stressing Japan’s keenness to strengthen the Japan-Egypt-Africa triangular cooperation, adding that Egypt will call for a conference soon to discuss African-Japanese cooperation ways in all fields, and most importantly is transferring the Japanese experience in field of industry and entrepreneurship to a mutual benefit of all parties.