1. Meeting Summary
The 2nd Korea-Egypt Finance Minister’s Meeting was held on December 6 in Cairo, Egypt. The meeting was attended by Minister Bahk Jaewan along with government representatives from 8 Korean government departments and agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs and the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Egypt was represented by Minister of Finance Momtaz El-Saeed and top delegates from Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, the Ministry of Education and other ministries.
Both countries shared their views of 5 areas of mutual interest, which included trade and investment, construction and infrastructure, development cooperation, new technologies and public administration. This was followed by an in-depth discussion regarding concrete ways in which to cooperate.
This 2nd Korea-Egypt Finance Ministers’ Meeting affirmed the strong commitment by both countries to engage in bilateral economic cooperation, even though Egypt recently experienced political upheaval, which resulted in the establishment of a new government and both countries only recently opened high-level economic cooperation channels for the first time in 2011. Specifically, Egypt expressed a desire for Korea to share its knowledge and experience in certain fields, and Korea decided to actively cooperate in order for both countries to realize positive outcomes. Both countries agreed to strengthen their cooperative relationship following the meeting.
2. Results
With regards to trade and investment, both countries agreed that they were not performing up to potential and that current results were unsatisfactory. Therefore, both countries decided to invigorate private sector exchange through business forums, economic missions, and by strengthening the Korea-Egypt Economic Cooperation Committee* in order to combat a lack of information, which is the largest hurdle that stands in the way of Korean corporations entering the Egyptian market. Egypt expressed an interest in Korea’s Private-Public Partnership (PPP) management system and agreed to expand cooperation by signing a MOU. Furthermore, both countries agreed to make changes to the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement to reflect economic conditions and finish work on the revisions as soon as possible.
*The Committee was established as a cooperation channel between the Federation of Korean Industries and the Federation of Egyptian Industries in 2001
With regards to construction and infrastructure, Korea asked for Egypt to provide information in order to make it possible for Korean corporations to actively participate in large-scale infrastructure projects, such as Egypt’s railway project. Egypt’s cooperation would lay the foundation for Korean companies to enter the Egyptian market. Both countries agreed to strengthen financial cooperation in order to offer financial support needed for construction projects and to smooth the contract process of large-scale projects. Egypt asked for the Korean government and corporations to pay attention not only to transportation projects, but also energy and water resources projects as well.
Both countries agreed to seek ways to successfully cooperate with each other by sharing information and experience in order to develop sustainable cooperation. Egypt pointed out that its development strategies are insufficient from a long-term perspective and therefore asked Korea to share the Korean model for development. Egypt also agreed to sign a Knowledge Sharing Program (KSP) MOU with Korea as soon as possible and agreed to strengthen cooperation between Egypt and the Korean Development Institute. Projects related to the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) will also be actively sought.
With regards to new technology cooperation, each country will also look for new, mutually beneficial opportunities in the areas of nuclear energy, IT, and human capital development. Korea will introduce the SMART Korean Reactor to prepare for the entrance into the Egyptian market and agreed to promote related projects, such as the introduction of joint investigations on validity and technology cooperation workshops. Moreover, a technology information exchange cooperation agreement will be signed between nuclear energy regulatory agencies. Egypt welcomed human capital development cooperation to train technical personnel and suggested that the related ministers engage in bilateral talks on this topic. Cooperation between related organizations will be strengthened and working level consultations will begin as soon as possible to expand job training, information and professional exchange.
Regarding public sector cooperation, the exportation of Korea’s related systems will be expanded by laying the foundation for bilateral fiscal management cooperation. Egypt showed interest in Korea’s dBrain system and national government property management systems.
3. Evaluation and Future Plans
Minister Bahk Jaewan met with Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil following the conclusion of the Finance Ministers’ Meeting and explained the results of the Finance Ministers’ Meeting, outlined future plans, and requested pan governmental support. Prime Minister Kandil expressed his full support and expects bilateral cooperation will yield tangible results soon.
*Government press release (December 7)