CAIRO, Jan 17 (Aswat Masriya) – Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi formally invited on Saturday Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Egypt's anticipated economic conference in March, calling on Japanese businessmen to invest in Egypt.

Sisi met with Abe on Saturday during the latter's first visit to Egypt in eight years. They discussed the latest developments in the region as well as the means to combat "terrorism", Sisi said in a joint press conference after the meeting.

Sisi also called on the people of Japan to visit Egypt, describing the country as "safe and stable."

Abe welcomed the reopening of a direct air line between Egypt and Japan, hoping it would "boost tourism for further communication between the two nations."

The Japanese prime minister announced during the Egyptian Japanese businessmen meeting pledging around $360 million worth of loans for Egypt's electricity sector, as well as transportation projects. Japan would also grant loans to expand Egypt's Borg al-Arab Airport, Abe added during the press conference.

Abe said that his government is keen on encouraging Japanese companies to participate in Egyptian projects, most notably the new Suez Canal Development Project.

Sisi launched a mega project in August last year which entails digging a 72-km (45-mile) bifurcation to the Suez Canal as well as developing the Suez Canal region. 

Abe also addressed the "proliferating phenomenon of extremism" in the Middle East region, stressing it must be restrained.

For the Middle East region to be stable, Abe said, Egypt must be stable and flourishing.

"Japan will strongly help Egypt and will walk with it side by side," Abe said.

Sisi stressed that fighting "terrorism" should not only involve military solutions. He said the matter needs to be addressed using "developmental and cultural" solutions, as well as spreading the culture of coexistence and acceptance of one another.

Abe had announced earlier pledging around $200 million worth of non-military assistance for Middle Eastern countries battling "terrorism", warning that the world would suffer an "immeasurable loss" should "terrorism" further spread.

The Japanese Prime Minister had met with his Egyptian counterpart Ibrahim Mehleb on Friday, when they discussed mutual cooperation in the fields of politics, economics, scientific and cultural exchange.

Sisi and Abe met before on the sidelines of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2014.

This is Abe's second visit to Egypt, following his 2007 visit, where he met with former President Hosni Mubarak and former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif.