The Minister of International Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, held a policy dialogue meeting with a delegation from South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Export-Import Bank of Korea (EXIM Bank) and Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), to hold an Egypt-Korea policy dialogue on the annual policies implemented by the Ministry of International Cooperation in coordination with all national authorities identify opportunities for financing.
The delegation from South Korea was headed by Ms. JungHyun Park, who also heads the future direction of the EDCF and Mr. Hyuk-joon Kwon, Director of the Africa Team at the Export-Import Bank. The meeting was also attended by H.E Mr. Hong Jin-wook, Ambassador of South Korea in Egypt and a number of national official representatives from the Ministry of Transport, the National Authority for Tunnels, the Ministries of Finance, Military Production, Local Development and the Environment, the National Training Academy, and the Suez Canal Authority.
To contribute to well-informed policy decisions, and the policy dialogue meeting allowed for constructive commitments on how implementation will take place. The Minister of International Cooperation emphasized Egypt’s strategic and long-standing partnership with Korea, which contributed to a large portfolio that will exceed $1.2 billion.
The policy dialogue included discussions on the manufacturing and maintenance of 320 trains for metro lines 2 and 3, the establishment of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Egypt, and the establishment of Suez Canal Green Energy Infrastructure in Egypt.
In line with the Government of Egypt’s Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy 2035, which aims to lower greenhouse gas emissions and diversify 42% of Egypt’s energy mix by 2035, the current portfolio EXIM Bank includes the manufacturing and supply of 32 Trains for metro line No. 3 and the modernization of railway signaling system on Nagh Hamady and Luxor Corridor.
The Minister added that Egypt recently announced the National Climate Change Strategy for 2050, which will be mainstreamed in all cooperation portfolios to accelerate Egypt’s transition to a green economy, and discussed opportunities for further cooperation in the energy and green hydrogen sector.
For his part, H.E Mr. Hong Jin-wook, Ambassador of South Korea in Egypt, expressed his gratitude for attending the policy dialogue, and that Egypt and South Korea’s development partnership is also flourishing in terms of financing or technical cooperation between the two countries.
In her speech, Ms. JungHyun Park, head of the delegation, affirmed that the government of South Korea looks forward to further enhancing cooperation in five key areas, including digital transportation, environment, energy, and climate change in Egypt. She also expressed the strong readiness of the Bank and the Fund to support large-scale projects by providing mixed financial packages with mechanisms that include soft and concessional, as well as export credit.