Egypt appointed as strategic partner for S. Korea in terms of development cooperation for 2021/25

CAIRO – 20 May 2021: Egypt was appointed to be the priority strategic partner for South Korea's development cooperation plans in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for the period between 2021/2025, Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said.

This came during Al-Mashat’s meeting with the South Korean Ambassador to Cairo, Hong Jin-wook, within the framework of the periodic meetings with multilateral and bilateral development partners to follow up on ongoing projects funded by development partners. They both discussed the joint economic relations between Egypt and South Korea.

Al-Mashat noted that the coming period will witness negotiations and discussions on common areas of cooperation in the cooperation strategy for the period between 2021/2025. The Minister explained that joint economic relations between the two countries will bring about new ideas, such as in digitization and in the green economy, thus aiding Egypt’s resilient and sustainable recovery within the framework of its development priorities, in line with the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

During the meeting, Al-Mashat and Jin-wook, discussed the results of ongoing discussions with the South Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Export-Import Bank of Korea regarding financing projects in the transport sector, including a project that aims to modernize the signals on the Luxor-Aswan railway.

Al-Mashat emphasized the importance of joint cooperation with South Korea for development efforts in Egypt, as this is within its 2030 Vision. The Minister also applauded the Korean government’s response in supporting Egypt in combating the COVID-19 pandemic by providing medical supplies and financial aid to curb economic, social and health effects. South Korea had provided 3 shipments of medical supplies worth $900,000 in 2020.

Ambassador Jin-wook said that South Korea sees Egypt as a priority partner country in official development assistance during the period between 2021/2025. In that light, there will be tremendous expansion of development cooperation between the two countries in the coming period.

Jin-wook shared that Egypt is the only country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region that has been selected to be one of the priority partners with the country's potential in its growing young and capable workforce. Moreover, Egypt is already a strategic center for Korean companies in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Jin-wook also expressed hope that activating this partnership would contribute to the successful implementation of the social and economic structural reforms undertaken by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

The ongoing development finance portfolio between Egypt and South Korea amounts to $473 million covering several sectors such as, high education, information technology and transportation.