President Lee Jae Myung, right, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi pose for a photo during an expanded Korea-Egypt summit at the Blue House in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Oct. 8.JOINT PRESS CORPS
Korea and Egypt formally launched negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) on Thursday and upgraded their relationship to a strategic partnership, as President Lee Jae Myung hosted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in Seoul.
“Egypt is a major economic power bridging the Middle East and Africa, as well as one of Korea’s key trading partners. A number of leading Korean businesses already operate actively in Egypt,” Lee said in a statement released after the summit.
“I hope the agreement will be concluded at the earliest possible date, laying a solid foundation not only to expand bilateral trade and investment, but also to broaden economic cooperation across a wide range of sectors.”
Al Sisi is on a three-day state visit to Korea that began Wednesday. It is his first visit to Korea in 10 years, since 2016. He took office in 2014.
A CEPA is a type of free trade agreement that goes beyond cutting or eliminating tariffs to strengthen economic cooperation across a broad range of areas, including the liberalization of goods, services and investment as well as industrial and supply chain cooperation.
The two leaders agreed to pursue a CEPA when Lee visited Egypt in November last year, and the countries' trade authorities signed a joint declaration on promoting the agreement in Egypt in January. Korea has CEPAs that are in effect, concluded or under negotiation with countries including India, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Serbia, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Thailand and Pakistan.
President Lee Jae Myung, right, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi raise a toast at the Blue House state guesthouse in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Oct. 8.JOINT PRESS CORPS
On the occasion of the summit, the two governments signed 12 agreements and memorandums of understanding, including the joint declaration launching CEPA negotiations, a social security agreement and MOUs on ICT, clean energy, shipbuilding, maritime affairs, higher education, power infrastructure and cultural exchanges.
Korea is the first Asian country to sign the Agreement on Social Insurance with Egypt, which spares workers posted between the two countries from paying pension contributions in both.
“This will ease the burden on Korean and Egyptian workers required to pay pension contributions in both countries, thereby helping companies expand their presence in our two markets and spurring on business activities,” Lee said.
Lee also highlighted defense industry cooperation with Egypt.
“President Al Sisi and I shared the view that the joint production of K9 self-propelled howitzers has become a successful model of defense industry cooperation between our two countries,” he said.
The K9 self-propelled howitzer, an armored, tracked artillery vehicle armed with a 155-millimeter gun, is made by Hanwha Aerospace and is one of Korea's flagship defense exports. Under a joint production deal launched in February 2022 and worth about 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion), Egypt is acquiring K9s based on Korean defense technology, with part of the order produced locally.
“President Al Sisi highly valued our advanced defense industrial capacity, and I expressed my hope that defense cooperation between the two countries would go beyond the export of weapons systems and develop into a mutually beneficial partnership […] Such cooperation could also contribute to strengthening Egyptian military capabilities and expanding its industrial base.”
President Lee Jae Myung, right, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi arrive for a joint press statement at the Blue House in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Oct. 8.JOINT PRESS CORPS
On wars in the Middle East, including in Gaza and Iran, Lee said, the “two countries agreed to continue working toward swiftly restoring peace and stability in the Middle East.”
He added, “Our two countries reaffirmed the importance of maintaining unhindered international maritime logistics as well as ensuring free and safe navigation for all vessels.”
Al Sisi went further on the Palestinian issue, expressing hope that more countries would recognize Palestine and voicing opposition to Israeli actions that he said were worsening the situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Lee did not comment on the remarks.
On the Korean Peninsula, Lee said he told Al Sisi of his government's firm belief that “rather than prevailing through force, establishing a peace that renders conflict unnecessary will create the surest and most solid foundation for security.”
Al Sisi, in response, praised Seoul's efforts to create conditions for dialogue and cooperation and pledged his full support.
After the summit, Lee hosted Al Sisi for a state luncheon at the Blue House and gave him a premium road bicycle made by a Korean company, a gift the presidential office said was chosen with the avid cyclist's tastes in mind.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
