Egyptian Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait met on Monday South Korean Ambassador to Cairo Hong Jin-wook, accompanied by representatives of the Korean community and companies operating in Egypt. The two sides exchanged views on ways to overcome the obstacles faced by Korean companies operating in Egypt, as well as ways to support them.
A selected group of representatives from the Korean Businessmen Association in Egypt, the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) office in Cairo, the Korean community and the sub-council of the Overseas Korean Traders Association in Cairo attended the meeting and conveyed their experiences and the obstacles they are facing while doing business in Egypt.
Ambassador Hong expressed his gratitude to the Egyptian authorities, including the Ministry of Finance, the Customs Authority and the Tax Authority, for their efforts in addressing the difficulties Korean companies suffer, hoping that this occasion will contribute to the continuation and regularity of the direct channel of communication between the Egyptian government and Korean companies operating in Egypt.
In particular, Ambassador Hong praised the participation of Korean companies in improving the standard of living of the Egyptian people by winning tenders for several projects in Egypt, such as Hyundai Rotem winning the tender for the project to provide subway trains for the second and third lines of the Cairo Metro, and the Korean Hydro and Nuclear Power Company winning the tender for the Dabaa nuclear power plant project and others. He also mentioned that the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Egypt is adamant on continuing its cooperation with the Egyptian government and companies to move forward the economic cooperation between the two countries to the next stage.
For his part, Maait said that the meeting was a good opportunity to get acquainted closely with the activities of Korean companies in Egypt and also said that he will do his best to support their activities, expecting Korean companies to invest more actively in Egypt.
The representatives of the Korean companies and the community who attended the meeting thanked Maait for this meeting and explained that it was also a good opportunity for them to deliver their practical experience from various business fields as well as to increase their awareness of the Egyptian government’s policies on supporting and promoting business activities.
Currently, there are more than 170 Korean companies operating in the Egyptian market, with over $800m investments.
