Egypt signs a 100-billion-yen ($734 million) investment package with Japan on Sunday to support Cairo’s transport development plan, marking the country’s largest-ever investment package with Japan, Invest-Gate reports.

The agreement aims to finance the expansion of Cairo’s metro, a 30-km stretch of land connecting Egypt’s 6th of October city to the Giza plateau.

The deal is signed during a business forum attended by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.

The investment package is part of Tokyo’s contribution to expanding Cairo’s metro service. The statement issued by the Egyptian Cabinet also mentions that Japan’s total investments in Egypt, under the country’s sustainable development goals, have reached $3 billion, spread over 18 projects.

Kishida begins his four-country African tour on Saturday, with Egypt being the first stop. During his visit, he holds a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to discuss how to improve Egypt’s investment climate and increase Japanese investments in different sectors.

In the past five years, trade between the two countries has reached $1.3 bn. The number of direct Japanese investments in Egypt has increased by 52% in 2021, with an estimated 87 firms operating in the North African country.

Official data showed that the value of Japanese investments in Egypt surged by 98.7% in the fiscal year 2021-2022, reaching $73.7 mn compared to $37.1 mn in the previous year.

However, data issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics revealed that the volume of trade between the two countries declined by 26.3% to $1.1 bn in 2022.