Taking advantage of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's state visit to South Korea, South Korea and Egypt have set out to strengthen economic cooperation spanning eco-friendly mobility, advanced industries, and infrastructure overall.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it co-hosted the Korea-Egypt Business Roundtable (BRT) with Egypt's Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul today (October 7).

From the Egyptian side, President el-Sisi attended along with ministers from four ministries—Foreign Affairs, Transport, Investment and Foreign Trade, and Industry—as well as the Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority and major business leaders.

From the Korean side, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-kwan, the Vice Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and some 30 key officials from public institutions and businesses were present.

Egypt is South Korea's third-largest trading partner and largest investment destination in Africa.

In particular, as a country with a strategic location connecting Africa, the Middle East, and Europe through the Suez Canal, it is drawing attention as a regional logistics and production hub.

Through this event, the two countries discussed ways to expand cooperation in various industrial fields such as energy and infrastructure, manufacturing, and digital sectors.

Notably, with Minister Kim Jeong-kwan in attendance today, Hyundai Rotem and the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) of Egypt signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Egypt New Administrative Capital hydrogen tram project, officially kicking off cooperation in the introduction of hydrogen mobility and railway project collaboration between the two countries.

Under this MoU, Hyundai Rotem agreed to supply 44 hydrogen tram trainsets to Egypt's National Authority for Tunnels and pursue business cooperation encompassing construction, systems, operation, and maintenance.

In addition, they decided to closely review economic feasibility through a preliminary feasibility study and materialize plans for follow-up project implementation.

Minister Kim Jeong-kwan said, "Since establishing diplomatic ties in 1995, the two countries have developed cooperative relations based on mutual friendship and trust over the past 30 years," adding, "Taking the opportunity of President el-Sisi's visit to Korea, we will further expand cooperation in advanced industries such as eco-friendly shipbuilding, future vehicles, and defense, as well as infrastructure fields including energy and logistics."

He added, "We will actively support business-to-business trade and investment to lead to substantive achievements by building advanced trade foundations, such as pushing for a Korea-Egypt Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)."

President el-Sisi arrived in South Korea today on a three-day state visit at the invitation of President Lee Jae-myung.

(Photo: Yonhap News)