President Moon Jae-in (left) on Jan. 20 holds a joint news conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi at the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt.

By Yoon Sojung
Photos = Yonhap News

President Moon Jae-in on Jan. 20 said he and the Egyptian president both "agreed to initiate meaningful progress for the sake of concluding Korea-Egypt trade agreements."

President Moon, currently on an official visit to Egypt, earlier that day held summit talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi at the presidential palace in Cairo.

At a joint news conference after their talks, President Moon said, "Our two countries will also broaden the horizons of economic cooperation into such future areas as eco-friendly transport and marine and space development."

Thanks to this latest dialogue, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on a joint study on trade and economic partnership. Both leaders said the agreement's signing will serve as a steppingstone toward the conclusion of a bilateral free trade agreement.

Seoul and Cairo also agreed to strengthen their partnership for sustainable development. Korea raised its limit on its Economic Development Cooperation Fund for Egypt to USD 1 billion, and will share its development experience and support the expansion of the Arab nation's transportation and water resource infrastructure such as railway construction in urban areas and seawater desalination.

President Moon Jae-in (left) on Jan. 20 holds summit talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi at the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt.

The two countries also agreed on close cooperation in overcoming the climate crisis. "Egypt is the chair country of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) this year," President Moon said. "Korea will actively cooperate to help successfully unite the international community's climate response commitments."

"We also came to an agreement to strengthen cooperation in renewable energy and eco-friendly infrastructure."

Turning to human and cultural exchanges, both sides agreed to cooperate to expand the diversity and convenience of exchanges for mutual enjoyment of each nation's culture and making travel safe.

The two leaders also agreed to jointly discover more of and preserve the cultural heritage of both countries.

On cooperation in national defense and the defense industry, the two leaders first discussed negotiations on the export contract for Korea's K9 self-propelled howitzer.

President Moon said, "We agreed that the howitzer will greatly contribute to strengthening the military power of Egyptian forces while the related technical cooperation and local production in Egypt will become a major example of successful, mutually beneficial cooperation at the same time," adding, "We also agreed to work together to conclude the contract."

The Korean-made howitzer is known as the world's best for maximum range, quick fire rapidity and maneuverability.

During President Moon’s visit to Australia last month, Seoul and Canberra concluded an export contract worth KRW 1.9 trillion for the howitzer.

arete@korea.kr