Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met on Sunday in Cairo to discuss the two countries’ cooperation. The trip is Kishida’s first visit to Africa since he assumed office as PM. According to a statement by Japan’s foreign ministry, Kishida said: “Egypt plays an extremely important role for peace and stability in the Middle East and African regions, and that Japan attaches importance to its partnership with Egypt.” El-Sisi expressed his appreciation for Japan’s support of Egypt, including the signing of a loan for the Greater Cairo Metro Line No. 4 Phase 1 Project (III) and the launch of a study aimed at providing a safety vessel on the Suez Canal. He also praised cooperation on food security, and the acceptance of 150 mainly doctoral students at the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology. El-Sisi also thanked Japan for its input on the Grand Egyptian Museum project. The statement said that Kishida also congratulated Egypt on its successful hosting of COP27 and noted the support by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance for the issuance of Samurai bonds, which are yen-denominated bonds issued in Tokyo by non-Japanese companies, subject to Japanese regulations. The Japanese PM added that he plans to encourage more Japanese companies to expand and invest in Egypt, which he said was an increasingly attractive investment destination. The two leaders agreed that Japan would further strengthen its contribution to the Multinational Forces and Observers, an international peacekeeping force overseeing the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. El-Sisi expressed his appreciation to Japan for its contribution to stability in the region. The two leaders also discussed regional affairs such as the Middle East peace plan and Sudan. The two leaders shared grave concerns about the current high tensions between Israel and Palestine. According to the statement, Kishida praised the five-party talks between Egypt, Jordan, US, Israel and Palestine for their efforts to ease tensions. In response, El-Sisi explained Egypt’s efforts to prevent the situation in Palestine from worsening and to achieve lasting peace. Regarding Sudan, the two officials agreed to work closely to calm the situation and resume the democratic transition process as soon as possible. • This article originally appeared on Arab News Japan