Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit on Monday attended during his visit to Japan the signing ceremony of an Egyptian-Japanese agreement to establish the National Grand Museum.

Under the agreement, Japan will grant Egypt a soft loan of $300 million and provide the technical know-how to establish the museum, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release.

The museum's construction is expected to complete by 2011 to be the largest museum in the world.

Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs Ali el-Hanafi signed for Egypt's side, while Kyosuke Shinozawa, the governor of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), signed for the Japanese.

The museum is the brainchild of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, when he visited Egypt in 2003.

Abul-Gheit presented the Japanese Foreign Ministry with a replica of the Rosetta Stone in appreciation of Japan's contribution to the project.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit met Monday with Japanese Parliament Speaker Yohei Kono.

Abul-Gheit highlighted the importance of the initiative of "Dialogue with the Muslim World," which was launched by Kona during his term in office as foreign minister.

Key Japanese projects in Egypt and bilateral trade cooperation have also topped Abul-Gheit's talks with Kono.

Abul-Gheit invited the Chairman and the Secretary General of the Egyptian-Japanese Parliamentary Goodwill Society to visit Egypt to get a first-hand experience on the latest economic and political reforms in the country.

The top Egyptian diplomat further met with Sadako Ogata, President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Abul-Gheit and Ogata tackled JICA assistance to Africa and the Middle East.

They also discussed the establishment of an Egyptian-Japanese University for Science and Technology in Egypt, the first of its kind in the Middle East and Africa.