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Amr Kandil – Ahram Online
“Japan has agreed to cooperate with Egypt, as an influential power in the Islamic world, to ensure that recent developments in Afghanistan do not cause further unrest”, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told a press conference with Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry on Monday.
On Sunday, the Taliban seized the Afghan capital Kabul, leading to the collapse of the government with the flight of President Ashraf Ghani from the country. These developments took place amid US troop withdrawal from the country after 20 years of war.
The Japanese FM urged all concerned parties to work on restoring security and order and ensure that lives and property in Afghanistan are protected.
Suez Canal crisis
During the press conference, Motegi thanked the Egyptian government for resolving the issue of the container ship which was stranded in the Suez Canal earlier this year.
The ship, owned by Japanese firm Shoei Kisen, ran aground in the Suez Canal last March and blocked traffic in the international trade route for six days.
“Japan had contributed to developing the Suez Canal through various economic cooperation projects and is willing to boost cooperation in issues related to the Suez Canal”, Motegi noted.
The Japanese FM said he discussed with Shoukry enhancing cooperation between the two countries on Middle Eastern issues and the 8th meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) scheduled for 2022.
“We affirmed the necessity to continue coordination and joint work based on a shared vision between the two countries to achieve stability and defuse the crises”, FM Shoukry said.
The top Egyptian diplomat said he discussed with Motegi non-proliferation and global denuclearisation as well as supporting Japan’s endeavour in enhancing development efforts in Africa.
