Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat received, on Monday, medical supplies worth $500,000 from the South Korean government in support to the former’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response.
The medical aid was approved in August, and arrived Egypt over two phases: the first batch comprised 227 PCR test kits from Kogene Biotech worth $250,000, and arrived in Cairo on 14 October. The second batch contained 223,000 KF94 medical masks and 149,000 KF80 masks which were delivered on 14 December.
South Korean Ambassador to Egypt, Hong Jin-wook, said that this collaboration reflects Korean government’s commitment to work with partner countries to confront COVID-19 pandemic.
He noted that medical cooperation is an important facet for Korea-Egypt bilateral relations. Ambassador Hong pointed to the two telephone conversations between Korean President Moon Jae-in and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in March and October, during which the two leaders stressed the importance of promoting joint medical cooperation and exchanging experiences to combat this unprecedented crisis.
The Korean government was the first to provide cash support of $200,000 to fund emergency health response activities with the outbreak of the COVID-19 in Egypt in May.
Additional support was provided in November through the Official Development Assistance (ODA) worth $200,000 for the supply of medical equipment, oxygen tank, and CT scanner to a public hospital (El-Salhya El-Gedida Central Hospital) in Sharqia governorate.
Ambassador Hong added that Korean companies are willing to export to Egypt its needs of medical equipment and facilities to help combat COVID-19, as well as transferring their knowledge and expertise through participating in Egypt’s national projects in the health sector.
Egypt-South Korea cooperation portfolio reached $458m in vital sectors and gave a priority to infrastructure and human capital as a core of development projects in Egypt, which aligns with the country’s sustainable development goals.
Minister Al-Mashat expressed hope that the two countries’ cooperation would be further expanded and diversified in the years to come.
