Egypt is hoping to deepen its cooperation with Japan to help African countries improve access to medical care, Ayman Aly Kamel, Cairo's ambassador to Tokyo, said in a recent interview.

Egypt is keenly anticipating its chance to make the proposal as Japan gears up to host the Group of 20 summit in June and the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in October, which Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi will attend, Kamel said.

"We have a very close relationship with Japan which allows us to engage in more productive projects that could benefit a great deal our African brothers," Kamel said on Friday in Tokyo.