South Korea’s ongoing portfolio of development cooperation with Egypt includes 14 projects amounting to about $50m in the field of transportation and education, Kim Young SU, South Korea’s Deputy Minister of International Development Cooperation has told Daily News Egypt.
Kim revealed that five development projects are scheduled to be completed this year, and the rest (9 projects) will follow during the coming year.
The Korean official stressed that big future projects are coming between Egypt and South Korea, especially after selecting Egypt as a priority country for Official Development Assistance (ODA) and a key development partner in the MENA region during the period (2021-2025).
“There are projects that will be agreed upon. Korea is working to develop the transportation infrastructure in Egypt, in addition to projects related to areas of raising women’s awareness and the health field with the Ministry to develop the infrastructure of the medical sector,” Kim said.
He added that Egypt’s civilization is ancient and full of resources, and this puts it at the heart of the Middle East and Europe, wishing that there would be great cooperation between the two countries in the fight against the coronavirus.
The Korean official headed a delegation that started a visit to Cairo on Sunday and will last until 2 November, to meet with Egyptian government officials and discuss the main areas of cooperation between the two countries and the achievements of official development assistance projects.
The Korean delegation visited the Korea-Egypt Technological University in Beni Suef, which is considered a symbol of excellent cooperation on higher education and technical training between two countries. Kim stressed his country’s support to the Korea-Egypt Technological University, in terms of financing and teaching methods. He added that there is no Korean professor yet at the university, but negotiations are still ongoing.
Kim explained that through this university, Korea links technical education with job opportunities. There is great promise for a bright future ahead, with the graduates from this university working for Korean companies in Egypt such as Samsung, LG, and many others.
He concluded by stressing that the cooperation with Egypt is continuing, praising the efforts done by the government in Egypt to develop Egypt.
“I felt the extent of the interest of officials and the people in the desire to develop Egypt, and the government of Mostafa Madbouly made efforts in this field,” he concluded.
