South Korea and Egypt upgrade ties to strategic partnership, launch CEPA talks

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung held a summit with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who is on a state visit, at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on October 8, and the two countries upgraded their relations to a "strategic partnership". In a joint press statement after the talks, Lee said the two sides issued a joint statement on the upgrade, achieved results in five broad areas and signed or revised a total of 12 cooperation documents. Seoul Shinmun reported that the two countries had established a "comprehensive cooperative partnership" in 2016 and upgraded it ten years later; Chosun Ilbo noted that el-Sisi's previous visit to South Korea was in 2016. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]

Lee said that after agreeing last year to pursue a Korea-Egypt Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the two countries formally declared the launch of negotiations on it, and that he hoped the agreement would be concluded quickly to expand trade, investment and wider economic cooperation. He also said South Korea had become the first Asian country to sign a social security agreement with Egypt, which he said would ease double payment of pension contributions for workers posted between the two countries. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]

The two sides signed memorandums of understanding on shipbuilding, clean energy and power infrastructure, and agreed to expand cooperation in information and communications technology. Lee said the shipbuilding memorandum was meant to help develop Egypt's environment-friendly shipbuilding industry. On defence, Lee said both leaders agreed that joint production of the K-9 self-propelled howitzer had become a successful model, and that he hoped defence cooperation would go beyond weapons exports to local production and technology cooperation in Egypt. Newsis reported that the talks also covered trade, investment, infrastructure, supply chains, people-to-people exchanges and regional and international issues. [ 4 , 5 ]

According to Seoul Shinmun, the two countries designated next year as the Korea-Egypt Year of Mutual Cultural Exchange, and the Grand Egyptian Museum signed cooperation memorandums with South Korea's National Museum of Korea and National Agricultural Museum. Lee said he praised Egypt's efforts for peace in the Middle East, including Gaza, that the two sides reaffirmed the importance of free and safe navigation for all ships, and that he explained his government's plan for peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula. [ 4 ]

In opening remarks reported by Newsis, Lee called Egypt a key partner in his Middle East initiative, S.H.I.N.E., which he said he announced at Cairo University last year. He said South Korea's technology and industrialisation experience and Egypt's strategic location and human and material resources were complementary strengths, and that the two countries had identified common interests in trade, investment, the defence industry, culture and education during their previous meeting in Egypt. [ 2 ]