South Korea and Egypt upgrade ties to strategic partnership; CEPA talks launched

South Korea and Egypt have upgraded their bilateral ties to a strategic partnership, President Lee Jae Myung announced on Thursday at a summit with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul.

“Today, we are opening a new chapter in bilateral cooperation, with Korea–Egypt relations being elevated to a strategic partnership,” Lee said. The two leaders also formally launched negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), with Lee expressing hope the deal would expand trade and investment between the countries.

The summit took place during al-Sisi’s three-day state visit from 7 to 9 October — his first trip to South Korea in 10 years — and follows Lee’s visit to Egypt last November. The two countries signed or revised 12 cooperation documents covering shipbuilding, clean energy, electric power infrastructure, information and communications technology and cultural exchanges. Among them was a social insurance pact, making South Korea the first Asian country to conclude such an agreement with Egypt, and memoranda of understanding on artificial intelligence, high-speed internet and cybersecurity.

The leaders also discussed defence cooperation, citing the joint production of K9 self-propelled howitzers as a successful model for broader industrial partnership. Al-Sisi pledged support for South Korean companies seeking to expand investment in Egypt and raised the prospect of a Korean industrial complex allowing firms to localise production and use Egypt’s free trade agreements to reach Middle Eastern, African and European markets.

Sources: Reuters and The Korea Herald.