TOKYO - Egypt is finalising plans for its first yen-denominated ​bond sale ⁠in three years, foreign minister Badr Abdelatty ‌told Reuters on a trip to Japan on Thursday.

The ​African Development Bank said in December it would partially ​guarantee Cairo's planned $500 ​million-equivalent Samurai bonds on the Japanese markets this year.

"We are completing the ⁠final steps," Abdelatty said on the sidelines of an event in Tokyo, adding that he had been promoting the sale and other ​investment ‌opportunities while in Japan.

"We ⁠had ⁠extensive discussions with our Japanese friends on monetary, fiscal, financial ​support, especially with regard ‌to budget support and samurai ⁠bonds as well."

Egypt's struggling economy has been boosted in recent years by major real estate investments and an $8 billion IMF loan, though the Iran war is piling pressure on its precarious finances by hiking energy costs and pushing up inflation.

The bond ‌sale would be Egypt's third in the ⁠currency, following issuances in 2022 ​and 2023.

"It will be very important, despite the fact that we've been hit hard with ​implications ‌of the (Iran) war," Abdelatty said.

(Reporting ⁠by John Geddie ​in Tokyo; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)