Lee holds summit with Egypt's El-Sisi to discuss economic cooperation

Korean President Lee Jae Myung held a summit with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Seoul on Thursday as the two countries seek to expand economic cooperation and take their relationship to a new strategic level.

El-Sisi arrived in Korea the previous day on a three-day state visit, his first trip to the country since 2016.

Following an official welcoming ceremony in the front garden of the Blue House, which included a joint inspection of an honor guard, the two leaders held talks first in a restricted format and then in an expanded format that included senior officials from both sides.

Later, the leaders are scheduled to attend an agreement-signing ceremony, a joint press briefing and a state luncheon, according to the Blue House.

The talks are expected to focus on economic cooperation, such as in trade and investment, infrastructure and supply chains, and also address ways to expand people-to-people exchanges, the regional political situation and international issues.

"We expect President El-Sisi's state visit to serve as an important opportunity to develop Korea-Egypt ties into a strategic partnership and further strengthen our country's cooperation with Africa and the Middle East," presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said earlier.

The two leaders last met in November of last year during Lee's visit to Egypt.

Yonhap