11 September 2006….. A consultation session was held between Egypt and Japan in the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, on 10 September 2006, where Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs, Ambassador Ali Houssam El-Din El-Hefny, headed the Egyptian side, while the new Director of the Middle East Department in the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Norihiro Okoda, headed the Japanese delegation. The session lasted for three hours and tackled issues related to the bilateral relations, the Egyptian-Japanese trilateral cooperation programs, in addition to the political situation in the Middle East and Sudan. On the bilateral level, both sides discussed means of promoting the bilateral relations, and utilizing the outcome of Aboul Gheit’s visit to Tokyo in May 2006, including establishing the Egyptian-Japanese strategic dialogue, the possibility of creating a technical economic joint committee concerned with the economic cooperation between both countries, in addition to discussing the possible means of advancing the project of the Technological University in Egypt. The meeting also tackled the results of the Arabic-Japanese dialogue, enhancing political consultations in the fields of the UN reform, and combating nuclear proliferation, as well as cooperation between the diplomatic institutes of both countries. Concerning the trilateral cooperation programs, both sides evaluated this cooperation in Iraq, Sudan, and Africa, and discussed the possibility of establishing trilateral cooperation in Lebanon aiming at contributing in the reconstruction of Lebanon. Both sides reviewed the situation in Sudan, Iraq, and Lebanon, in addition to the international issues of common concern.