Japan boosting Egypt's development efforts

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been supporting the development efforts of Egypt since 1977 through grants, loans and technical assistance and has established itself as one of Egypt’s main partners for development.

Why cooperate with Egypt?

The political importance of Egypt and its economic and business potential for Japanese companies are significant enough for JICA to assist in the development of Egypt.

With a large and young population Egypt’s labour force and market are attractive to Japanese businesses. Fifty companies have expanded their operations here and more Japanese companies are interested in investing in Egypt.

In total, JICA has provided around $1.2 billion of grant aid, and financed 42 projects with loans worth nearly $6.5 billion.

JICA has been supporting Egypt with technical cooperation since 1980 to develop human resources and the social system. We had brought more than 2,800 Japanese experts to Egypt and sent more than 10,000 trainees from Egypt to Japan.

More than 280 Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) have also been working in Egypt.

The priority areas for JICA’s cooperation with Egypt include electricity, transport, tourism, basic social services, education, public sector empowerment and regional cooperation.

How do you see the challenges facing Egypt’s energy sector?

Energy security is crucial for economic and social development. We recognise the Egyptian government’s efforts to promote a more diversified mix of energy, as well as its adoption of challenging targets for renewable energy — to have 20 per cent of electricity generation from renewables by 2022.