His Excellency Dr. Walid Mahoud Abdelnasser, Ambassador of Egypt to Japan, delivered a special lecture on Africa in the 21st century and the role of Egypt in the continent’s development, on Monday.

In his lecture, Ambassador Abdelnasser examined the culture, civilization, geography, politics and economy of Egypt over its 7,000 history, and its influence on the rest of Africa over the millennia. He also shared insights on diplomatic relations between his nation and Japan since 1963, noting that the two countries have been working closely together in various areas, including their support for an international treaty to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons earlier this year.

The ambassador urged the students to visit Egypt for themselves, stating that the Japanese may be familiar with Egypt’s past, but know far less of her present.

A graduate from Cairo University, which has shared an academic exchange program with Soka for some 20 years, Dr. Abdelnasser was assigned to Japan as the Egyptian ambassador in 2007. He is a member of the African Diplomatic Corps, whose ambassadors have presented Soka University founder Daisaku Ikeda with citations in 1991, 2007 and 2010 for his contributions to Japan’s educational exchanges with Africa, as well as for advancing the causes of peace, culture and education worldwide.