Japanese companies are set to take part in Egyptian projects worth about 2 trillion yen ($17.7 billion) in the electricity and other sectors, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday after meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in Tokyo.

He did not elaborate on the projects, but an official at Japan's Foreign Ministry said Japanese and Egyptian companies are scheduled to sign more than 10 memorandums of agreement on Wednesday.

The announcement comes when Egypt is struggling to revive its economy after the 2011 uprising and subsequent unrest have driven away foreign investors and tourists.

Abe's government drives exports of social infrastructure such as railway systems and power generation systems to the Middle East and other regions as part of its growth strategy.

The leaders agreed to hold dialogue between their defence and foreign ministry officials periodically to strengthen security ties.

"We've reached an agreement to bolster our cooperation to eradicate terrorism and extremism, which have transcended particular regions or national borders and have come to pose a threat to peace and security of the international community," Sisi said at the joint news conference with Abe.

An Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State militant group is waging an insurgency in the Sinai, while the hardline Islamist group beheaded two Japanese citizens last year.-Reuters