Egypt and South Korea held a virtual meeting between senior officials to advance discussions on an economic partnership agreement aimed at strengthening bilateral trade and investment ties. The meeting brought together Hassan El-Khayat, Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, and Yuhan-Koo, South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy, who discussed strategies to expand economic cooperation and streamline investment flows between the two nations.
Both sides reviewed future plans regarding ongoing negotiations for the proposed agreement, which seeks to boost trade volumes and remove barriers to foreign investment. El-Khayat emphasized that the recent visit by South Korea’s president to Egypt in November had created positive momentum, urging both countries to capitalize on this diplomatic goodwill to achieve measurable progress in trade and shared economic goals within defined timelines.
Egypt expressed strong interest in finalizing the agreement, welcoming the upcoming signing of a joint declaration following the completion of feasibility studies, consultations with private sector stakeholders, and necessary governmental approvals. The Egyptian minister highlighted the country’s strategic geographic position and improving investment climate, noting that over 200 South Korean companies currently operate in Egypt. He also proposed reviving the joint commercial committee as a mechanism to deepen economic collaboration.
On his part, Yuhan-Koo praised the growing bilateral relationship, underscoring South Korea’s strategic interest in enhancing economic and trade cooperation with Egypt. He confirmed that domestic procedures were already underway to pave the way for the agreement, generating notable enthusiasm among Korean businesses who view it as a transformative step for economic engagement.
The South Korean minister suggested organizing mutual official delegations and business visits, proposing a future Egypt-South Korea business forum to accelerate negotiations and explore opportunities for increased two-way investment and trade.
This dialogue reflects Egypt’s broader strategy to attract more foreign direct investment and strengthen international partnerships with major global economies. The meeting was attended by Hossam Heiba, head of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, Dr. Amani Al-Wosal, head of the Agreements and Foreign Trade Sector, and Minister Plenipotentiary Ahmed Badawi, head of the promotion sector at the investment authority.
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Egypt and South Korea discuss steps to sign economic partnership agreement
Held by engineer Hassan El-Khayat, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, today Monday, a virtual meeting via “video conference” technology with Yuhan-Koo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea, to discuss ways to enhance bilateral trade and investment relations, and mechanisms to advance joint economic cooperation towards broader horizons.
The two sides reviewed future plans related to negotiations on the economic partnership agreement between the two countries, aiming to enhance trade exchange and remove obstacles to investment flows, in addition to discussing several files of mutual interest.
El-Khayat said, in a statement, that the South Korean president’s visit to Egypt last November opened the door for further cooperation and enhanced relations between the two friendly countries on all levels, calling for taking advantage of the positive momentum in bilateral relations to enhance the volume of bilateral trade and work to achieve common goals according to specific mechanisms and timelines.
He emphasized that Egypt attaches great importance to reaching an economic partnership agreement with South Korea, welcoming the signing of a joint declaration on the agreement in the near future after completing feasibility studies and concluding discussions with the private sector and obtaining the necessary approvals to sign the declaration.
He pointed out the advantages enjoyed by Egypt from its strategic geographical location and the improving investment climate, indicating the presence of more than 200 Korean companies operating in the Egyptian market, calling for reviving the joint commercial committee between the two countries as an effective tool to enhance trade and investment relations.
For his part, Yuhan-Koo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea, praised the distinguished and evolving relations between his country and Egypt, affirming that enhancing economic and trade partnerships with Egypt is of great importance to South Korea.
Yuhan-Koo said his country has begun taking necessary domestic measures to reach an economic partnership agreement with Egypt, explaining that these measures have created momentum in the Korean business community, which has shown great interest in this agreement and what it represents as a qualitative shift in trade, economic and investment relations between the two countries.
The South Korean minister called for exchanging official delegations and business visits in the coming period to discuss ways to enhance economic cooperation, and also proposed holding an Egyptian-Korean business forum in the near future that contributes to advancing negotiations on the economic partnership agreement and explores opportunities to enhance mutual investments and bilateral trade.
This meeting comes as part of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade’s keenness to attract more foreign direct investment and enhance international partnerships with major economies.
This was attended by Hossam Heiba, Chairman of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, Dr. Amani Al-Wosel, Head of the Agreements and Foreign Trade Sector at the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, and Minister Plenipotentiary Ahmed Badawi, Head of the Promotion Sector at the General Authority for Investment.