Egypt-South Korea: Recent meetings promise major leap in bilateral relations

CAIRO – 20 January 2022: Egypt and South Korea over the recent few years have held several meetings, including exchange of visits by presidents, which can promise a major qualitative leap in bilateral relations between the two countries.

Political, diplomatic relations

President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Egypt

Egypt has welcomed on Wednesday President Moon Jae-in of South Korea. It the first visit by a South Korean president in 16 years and comes in light of the partnership that has signed between Cairo and Seoul in 2016.

During his visit, the South Korean president met with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo, where they held bilateral talks and witnessed the singing of numerous cooperation agreements.

In a press conference, Sisi said he exchanged views with President Moon Jae-in on various regional and international issues of mutual interest.

“I would like to express our appreciation for the momentum evident in the bilateral cooperation in various fields between the two countries, as well as our pride in the depth of the Egyptian-Korean relations, which have witnessed remarkable development during the past years,” said Sisi.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi also said that they affirmed the importance of continuing the political consultation mechanism between the two countries through the Joint Ministerial Committee for Political, Economic and Technical Cooperation, headed by the two foreign ministers.

*For more about the fields of discussions between the two presidents today, press here.

Receiving parliament speaker

In October, Sisi received the Speaker of the South Korean National Assembly Park Byeong-seug.

The meeting tackled means to counter the ramifications of coronavirus pandemic as well as Egypt’s full support for all mechanism that guarantee the stability of the Korean peninsula.

 

Park applauded Egypt’s function as a cornerstone for stability and peace in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as its efforts to arrive at political settlements in the region and its moves to reach a truce between Israel and the Palestinians and reconstruction of Gaza.

Meeting with defense minister

Late in August, South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook met with Sisi.

 

During the meeting, Sisi praised modern and integrated infrastructure in Egypt, which he said provides a strong basis for boosting development cooperation with international partners.

The president voiced Egypt's keenness on promoting relations with South Korea, especially in the military and defense fields, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said.

Egypt also looks forward to activating the comprehensive cooperative partnership with South Korea in a way that helps benefit from the huge capabilities of the two countries, Sisi added.

Suh, for his part, praised the great national projects being established in Egypt under the leadership of President Sisi.

He also valued the role played by Egypt to contain tensions between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.

According to the spokesman, the meeting also reviewed military and security cooperation between the two countries, especially in the industrial and technological domains.

2016 visit to Seoul

Sisi made an official visit to Seoul in 2016 as part of an Asian tour that also included Japan and Kazakhstan, where he met with then-South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

Sisi and President Park Geun-hye discussed boosting Korean investments in Egypt as well as the latest developments of the counterterrorism efforts in the Middle East.

 

During his visit, Sisi also held talks with then-speaker of South Korea's National Assembly Chung Ui-hwa and a number of parliamentarians.

Economic relations

Over the first ten months of 2021, trade exchange between Egypt and South Korea witnessed an increase of 46.9%, reaching over $1.8 billion, compared to about 1.3 billion during the same period in 2020, Egypt’s Trade Minister Nevin Gamea said last year.

Her remarks came as she met with Yeo Han-koo, South Korea’s minister of trade.

In 2020, trade exchange between Egypt and South Korea totaled about $2 billion, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Trade, up from $1.59 billion in 2019.

During his current visit, South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with Sisi in Cairo, where they held bilateral talks and witnessed the singing of numerous cooperation agreements.

The agreements include cooperation between the two countries in trade and economic partnership as well as cooperation to implement national projects in Egypt.

*For more about the MoUs signed today, press here.

During his meeting with South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in, Sisi discussed opportunities for potential partnership between the Egyptian companies operating in Africa and Korean companies, in addition to promoting investment in Africa, especially in the field of infrastructure.

President Sisi this cooperation would come in light of the Continental Free Trade Area to significantly increase “the flow of investment and trade between the African countries and the international community.”

President Moon Jae-in said his country shares experience and exchange policies with Egypt to expand the cooperative partnership and promote sustainable development, stressing the importance of moving forward to concluding trade agreements and expanding the horizons of cooperation in eco-friendly transport and marine and space development.

*For more about trade fields discussed by the two presidents today, press here.

Meeting with parliament speaker

Sisi and the South Korean National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug also discussed trade and tech industries in Egypt.

Sisi said Egypt seeks to tap into the huge expertise of tech industries in South Korea and localizing the industry of electric cars and the relevant industries.

Park said South Korea is keen on expanding investments in Egypt, given its strategic location that allows access to the European market, Africa, and the Middle East.

The country is also willing to transfer the development experience to Egypt, especially as Egypt goes through wide-scale development in recent years, Park added.

Sisi’s Seoul visit

During Sisi’s Seoul visit in 2016, he and former President Geun-hye attended the signing ceremony of nine MoUs between the two countries in several fields, including education, transport and industry.

Sisi also met during his visit with Korean businessmen to explain investment opportunities in Egypt.

Military, industrialization relations

Meeting with DAPA minister

In December, Egyptian Minister of State for Military Production Mohamed Ahmed Morsi held a meeting with South Korean Minister for the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Kang Eun-ho and his accompanying delegation to discuss means and ways to boost cooperation between both countries in the field of industrialization.

For his part, Morsi asserted the depth of ties between both countries, lauding the effective participation of the South Korean side in “EDEX 2021” that was held on November 29 through December 2.

 

The meeting tackled the latest developments of joint cooperation and cooperation with the South Korean companies working in the field of manufacturing, Morsi said.

Meanwhile, Kang lauded the tangible developments witnessed in the Egyptian-South Korean ties especially after the visit of President Sisi to South Korea in 2016 that strengthened ties between both countries.

Meeting of defense ministers

In September, Egypt’s Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki met with his South Korean counterpart, Wook, in Cairo, where he affirmed Egypt’s keenness to coordinate efforts and expand the horizons of joint military cooperation with South Korea.

In the meeting, Zaki voiced Egypt’s appreciation of the firm relations with South Korea.

Wook expressed aspiration that the future stage will witness further cooperation in a way that meets the joint interests of both sides.

 

The South Korean minister of national defense affirmed deep appreciation of the Egyptian armed forces’ efforts in all fields.

Wook stressed South Korea’s support to the military cooperation horizons with Egypt during the coming period.

The meeting discussed latest developments on the regional and international levels, the statement read.

During the meeting, issues of mutual concern were also discussed, including the military cooperation fields as well as the transference and exchange of expertise between Egypt and South Korea, the statement added.

Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces Mohamed Farid and a number of army commanders of both countries attended the meeting.