A SNAPSHOT OF CULTURAL COOPERATION BETWEEN EGYPT AND JAPAN

• The Government of Japan has recently generously accepted to assist in the establishment of the Grand Museum of Egypt which many observers consider will be, as far as Egypt is concerned, the project of the century. The Museum, which will be located on the outskirts of Cairo, is expected to be largest of its kind anywhere in the world and will house the greatest number of antiquities and artifacts. The Museum will also serve as a magnet for tourists and historians alike, including from Japan from where over 75 thousand tourists visited Egypt during 2005.
• The Governments of Egypt and Japan are also cooperating to establish the Egyptian-Japanese University for Science and Technology (E-JUST). The establishment of the University, which will be located in New Borg El-Arab city, will represent a milestone in the development of the bilateral relationship between the two countries. The University will the first Japanese center for academia and higher learning anywhere in the Middle East and Africa.
• Egypt has also benefited, on an annual basis, for the Cultural Grants offered by the Government of Japan to developing countries which go towards financing cultural, educational and sports programs.
• On the other hand, Egypt for its part provides a number of scholarships for Japanese students to study in Egypt. Twenty such scholarships are provided for learning the Arabic language, and another four are provided for studying Islamic Studies in the prestigious Al Azhar University. These scholarships represent one of the mainstays of the cultural relationship between Egypt and Japan, and they serve to foster this relationship through enhancing academic and educational exchanges at the grass roots level.
• Egypt is also keen to expand the number and scope of Partnership Agreements between Egyptian and Japanese Universities. These Agreements serve to enhance the academic and research exchange activities between the two sides in a mutually beneficial manner. The last two years alone have witnessed a significant growth in the number of these Agreements whereby they increased from 30 to 46 in total as of early 2006. In the same context, Egypt is working hard to increase the number of Sistership Agreements between Japanese Prefectures and Egyptian Governorates, which also serve to foster the people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
• The overarching cultural relationship between Egypt and Japan is reinforced through the convening of regular Cultural Consultations between the two Governments. The last (fifth) session of these consultations was held in November 2005 in Cairo. The Egyptian Government usually utilizes the convening of these consultations to propose a number of specific suggestions aimed at furthering the cultural ties with Japan, including in the fields of higher education, promoting tourism, the restoration of Egyptian monuments and antiquities, preserving Egypt's cultural heritage, enhancing youth and sport exchanges, and convening exhibitions of interest to both the Egyptian and Japanese publics.