Egypt and Japan Sign an Agreement to Increase the Grant Financing the New Abu Al- Rish’s Outpatient Clinics

H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, and H.E. Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, signed an agreement with the Japanese Embassy and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) regarding the increase of the JICA grant to $19 million to construct the new outpatient building of the Abu Al-Rish Japanese Hospital. The agreement was concluded in the presence of Ambassador Masaki Noke, Ambassador of Japan to Egypt, and Mr. Yoshifumi Omura, Chief Representative of JICA Egypt Office, within the framework of the distinguished Egyptian-Japanese relations to promote the development of the health sector. In her speech, Al-Mashat, praised the Egyptian-Japanese joint relations pertaining to international cooperation and development finance, as the current portfolio of economic cooperation between the two countries amounts to $3 billion allocated to implement 14 projects across various sectors; namely electricity, transport, navigation, education, higher education, and irrigation. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Japan has supported the Egyptian health sector with development financing worth $28 million, including a $9 million grant to combat the pandemic and purchase medical equipment; in addition to the $19 million grant to inaugurate the outpatient building of Abu Al-Rish Children's Hospital. Al-Mashat explained that the pandemic has not hindered cooperation with Japan, as many important agreements were concluded to finance a sundry of sectors. For instance, a development financing agreement amounting to $236 million was signed last February to enhance development policies within the energy sector. H.E. Al-Mashat added that the Ministry of International Cooperation is working to consolidate economic relations between Egypt and its multilateral and bilateral development partners through the principles of Economic Diplomacy to implement the country's development vision and move forward towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The Minister further stressed the importance of Abu Al-Rish Japanese Hospital as a huge edifice for treating children, serving more than 25,000 patients per month. On his part, H.E. Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, commended the Japanese government and JICA for supporting Abu Al-Rish Hospital to construct the outpatient clinic building; provide the necessary medical devices and equipment; and provide training programs for nurses and doctors working in the hospital. Abdel Ghaffar stressed that the increase in the grant for the Abu Al-Rish Children's Hospital contributes to the reduction of overcrowding and long waiting lists for children who come from all over Egypt, adding that this collaboration testifies to the Egyptian government's keenness to improve health services, benefit from the Japanese expertise, and develop the mechanism used in constructing the clinics to maintain the safety of neighboring buildings. In the same vein, Ambassador Masaki Noke emphasized the vital role Abu Al-Rish Japanese Hospital plays in providing treatment for thousands of children from all over Egypt, explaining that the increase in the development financing supports and speeds up the completion of the outpatient clinic building, to enable children to benefit from medical services and necessary health care. Noke elaborated that the Japanese government is working closely with the Egyptian government in many areas alongside the health sector. The cooperation portfolio between Egypt and Japan began in 1954 and covers a myriad of sectors. The cooperation between Egypt and Japan to construct Abu Al-Rish Japanese Hospital began in 1979, in light of the government’s strategy to improve the healthcare services for children. Currently, JICA is providing a development financing to establish a seven-storey building behind the main hospital building to improve the hospital's efficiency and capacity so as to provide better healthcare for children.