In an Interview to Sada El-Balad TV Channel, the South Korean ambassador to Egypt talked about the bilateral relations between the two countries, opportunities for cooperation and the mutual projects.
Here is the full interview:-
1- What is the impact of the president Moon Jae-in visit on the Egyptian- South Korean cooperation?
The historic visit of President El Sisi to Korea in 2016 and the launching of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries paved a way for the two countries to expand the bilateral cooperation. I think the President Moon’s visit to Egypt as the first visit of a Korean President in 16 years, is a major leap in our relations.
In fact, Korea and Egypt have always enjoyed distinguished bilateral relations on all fronts. In addition to the strong historic and cultural ties between the two countries, we recognize the strategic importance of Egypt and have been cooperating in political, economic, trade, education fields over the past decades. I think the visit of President Moon opened a new page of our bilateral relations history as the two leaders agreed to expand bilateral relations into, particularly, the military, green economy and cultural fields. K9 contract for local production and the successful Korea-Egypt business roundtable for Future and Green economy and MOU on the cooperation for the Cultural Heritages are the major results of the visit for the further cooperation.
Thus, I believe that Korea-Egypt relations reflect a good model for the successful partnership, which I expect to witness further developments in the years ahead based on the results of the Summit in January.
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The Ambassador and the editor in chief of Sada El Balad English website SEE[/caption]
2- President Moon Jae-in visited 3 Arab countries... Do Korea have strategic interest in enhancing its relations with the Arab region?
The Republic of Korea believes the Middle East is witnessing comprehensive development in various fields and Korea aims to boost and invest in the development of these countries. The three countries President Moon visited are major trading partners of South Korea in the region. In light of Climate Change, we focus in Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia on the fields of green hydrogen and renewable energy as highlighted by President Moon during his Middle Eastern tour last month. We have also began to see further convergence of regional and international issues. With Egypt, our two leaders have affirmed the importance of continuing the political consultation mechanism between the two countries through the Joint Ministerial Committee for Political, Economic and Technical Cooperation, headed by the two foreign ministers.
3- What is the significance of the last military agreements signed between Egypt and Korea? Are these agreements representing the beginning of more security and military cooperation in the near future?
In February, Republic of Korea and Arab Republic of Egypt signed a contract to acquire K-9 self-propelled artillery after the visit of president of Republic of Korea to Egypt and meeting with president of Arab republic of Egypt.
This means that Egypt has become the first African country to use High-performance self-propelled artillery. In addition, Defense cooperation is only possible with deep trust between countries, and this contract was a good opportunity to confirm trust between two countries.
Based on this truest, we hope that two countries will continue to expand cooperation in various fields, including military and defense cooperation.
4- Since you visited Suez Canal, Port Said, and the New Administrative Capital, Does Korea plan to establish any projects in these areas?
We have a strong interest in opening up new avenues for our collaboration. For that reason, I visited the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the East Port Said Industrial Zone, and the New Administrative Capital to explore the opportunities available for Korean investors and businesses in Egypt.
I believe these areas are promising for more Korean presence in different fields including ship repair shipyards and an industrial zone. Also, there are advanced negotiations under way between Hyundai Rotem and the National Egyptian Railway Industries Company (NERIC) on the local manufacturing of railcars in a new factory in East Port Said, as part of the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
For the New Administrative Capital, we are keen to share our expertise in smart city development and sustainable urban planning. We have also concluded a Memorandum of Understanding between the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the National Training Academy (NTA) for the establishment of a KAIST branch in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital.
5- Korea selected Egypt as a key development partner in the MENA region during the period (2021-2025). How could this step affect economic cooperation between the two countries?
The Korean government has indeed selected Egypt as a priority country for Official Development Assistance (ODA) and a key development partner in the MENA region during the period (2021-2025). This may allow more funding to be made available for different projects for cooperation in Egypt, thereby increasing the scale of our economic cooperation portfolio. Thus, I believe that Korea-Egypt relations represent a good model for the successful partnership, which will be further developed, especially with the historic visit of President Moon Jae-in to Egypt in January.
During the presidential visit, many development cooperation related documents including the ‘MOU Concerning Financial Cooperation from the EDCF for the Years 2022 through 2026’, ‘Arrangements Concerning a Loan from the EDCF for the Egypt Luxor and High Dam Railway Modernization Project’, ‘Exchange of Notes for a Grant from KOICA for the Enhancement of the Public e-procurement System in Egypt Project, of a total amount of USD 7.9 million’ were signed in the presence of the two Leaders, President Moon and President El Sisi. I strongly believe these documents will pave the way to further broaden the scope of the collaboration and strengthen the bilateral development cooperation between the two countries, together with Korea’s selection of Egypt as a priority country for Official Development Assistance (ODA) for five years.
6- Can you tell us more about the ‘Korean New Deal’ and how is Egypt contributing to this matter?
President Moon Jae-in announced the ‘Korean New Deal’ in September 2020. The new deal has three main pillars comprising the integration of digitalization throughout the economy, a transition to green infrastructure and stronger support for employment and social safety nets. In this regard, I believe Korea and Egypt have a range of common areas of interest especially in terms of digital transformation and green growth. In relation to the digital transformation, ‘Exchange of Notes for a Grant from KOICA for the Enhancement of Public e-procurement System in Egypt Project, of a total amount of USD 7.9 million’ was signed in the presence of the two leaders. With this exchange of notes, the bilateral ties will be further strengthened through the sharing of Korea’s advanced knowledge and experience of e-procurement systems.
As for green growth, COP 27 will be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt’s beautiful coastal city, this coming November, and green growth and the green economy will definitely be key items on the agenda to be discussed among world leaders. Through COP 27, based on mutual interest in the green growth area, low-carbon and green cooperation between the two countries will be even further deepened, thereby greatly contributing also to the ‘Korean New Deal’.
7- What are the opportunities for cooperation between Egypt and Korea in the technology field?
Bilateral cooperation in the field of technology is very active now. With regard to the New Administrative Capital, we are keen to share our expertise in smart city development and sustainable urban planning. We have also concluded a memorandum of understanding between the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the National Training Academy (NTA) for establishing a KAIST branch in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital. Also, Korean Company JST is working in the field of solid waste conversion technology into alternative fuels instead of coal for cement plants.
Furthermore, Korea values Egypt as a main investment destination in Africa and the Middle East region. More than 30 Korean companies are operating in Egypt, and they contribute to the Egyptian economy through exports, job creation, and importantly technology transfer.
8- What challenges do Korean companies face while making investments in Egypt?
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The Ambassador and the editor in chief of Sada El Balad English website SEE[/caption]
It is true that the smooth business activities and operation of Korean companies already existing in Egypt strongly influence the investment decisions of other Korean companies. For that reason, we hold regular dialogues with our friends in the Egyptian government to address difficulties facing Korean companies and to promote better understanding of newly introduced legislation and policies. In June 2021, the Embassy organized a forum on the Egyptian government’s new customs and tax reform measures, particularly the Advanced Cargo Information System ACI and e-invoicing. Similarly, we held in September another webinar on the Egyptian medical and pharmaceutical markets, during which the Korean companies were briefed on the regulations for advancing into the Egyptian medical sector. In November 2021, a Korea-Egypt business consultative meeting with the participation of Korean companies, GAFI, and the EBA, was held during which challenges faced by Korean companies were discussed. Such open dialogue with investors helps not only to address existing challenges, but indeed generates confidence in the Egyptian market and ultimately serves to lure more Korean investments to Egypt.
9- You fasted Ramadan for one day and tried eating “Qamar Al-Din”, “Khoshaf” and even “Kahk el Eid”. How was the experience and what are the similarities between traditional Egyptian and Korean foods?
I feel a bit cautious telling my fasting experience during Ramadan since it was only for one day. In Egypt, I saw everyone sharing their food and eating together throughout the holy month of Ramadan, which reminded me of the old teachings practiced till this day in Korea. Those are 상부상조(spirit of mutual aid) and 홍익인간 (expanding the benefit of people) that shows that the two countries share the same culture of considering those who are in need. This helped me realize that Egypt and Korea share more common grounds than I first did.
I personally love Koshary and Mahshi which are considered the representative traditional Egyptian dishes. You can also find similar dishes in Korea such as Bibimbap or Lotus leaf rice wraps. These dishes are made by mixing various ingredients together in a harmonious way or by wrapping carefully rice with leaves to make them tasty. I think those similarities represent the spirit of tolerance, embracement, consideration and openness the two countries have in common.
10- During the 8th Int'l Drums and Traditional Arts Festival “Drums Dialogue for Peace”, you delivered an exceptional performance while playing saxophone to “3 daqat” and the national anthem. How did you prepare for the performance?
I was honored to be invited to the festival by the Ministry of Culture and play the songs I practice usually in front of the Egyptian citizens despite my lack of expertise. I remember being a bit flustered due to not practicing enough, but I was very happy thanks to the warm cheers and encouragement from the Egyptian citizens.
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The Ambassador and the editor in chief of Sada El Balad English website SEE Mr Mohamed Wadie[/caption]
11- Recently, Korean culture has found its way to the hearts of millions of Egyptians, whether through K-food, K-drama, or K-pop. What are your thoughts about it?
This recent phenomenon has now even generated a widely circulated term Hallyu (or Korean Wave) which refers to the growing popularity of Korean popular cultural content most notably including pop music (popularly known as “K-Pop”), soap operas (also known as “K-Dramas”), and movies.
I could not help noticing that many young Egyptians show their great passion for Korean culture, especially for K-Pop and K-Dramas here in Egypt. And it appears that this phenomenon is still growing: K-Pop as a term has now gained a wide currency amongst young generations in Egypt; and many of the online video streaming services consumed here in Egypt (most notably “Netflix”) now have a particularly dedicated section for Korean movies and TV shows, proving its growing popularity.
Also, nearly exponentially growing interest in Korean language in Egypt is worth mentioning and certainly reflects the phenomenon. A number of universities here in Egypt have shown their interests in opening a Korean department due to its growing demand, and the King Sejong Institute, a language institute run by the Korean Cultural Center, has recently seen an ever-growing competition rate for the applicants’ successful registration.
I am grateful that our culture is being greatly appreciated. I wish this phenomenon eventually leads to growing the mutual understanding of the peoples of the two countries, bridging the cultural gaps.
12- Korean Cultural Centre in Egypt hosted a preliminary competition for the 2021 K-pop World Festival to encourage young talents who are interested in K-pop. To what extent can this affect Korean-Egyptian relations on the cultural level?
I would say it has a great potential. There are quite a few foreign artists among the artists of the K-pop groups loved worldwide. For example, Lisa, a member of Blackpink who are known worldwide, is Thai. I think it is possible to imagine that aspiring Egyptian performers who love Korean pop music could soon become artists of K-pop idol groups and be on the Billboard chart. If so, I think the cultural intimacy between the two countries will be much stronger than now.
13- Among other activities of the Embassy is “Egypt in Korean Eyes” program. Would you tell us more about it and how did you truly see Egypt as a Korean citizen rather than an ambassador?
This video was to introduce Ramadan’s culture in Egypt through the eyes of Korean citizens living in Egypt. The Korean citizens staying in Egypt that appeared in the video all shared their beautiful memories they had about Ramadan in Egypt by telling us about their stories.
Personally before I was appointed to Egypt, I only thought of Egypt as a country of cultural heritage, however after experiencing Egypt to the fullest I was able to realize that it has achieved a very dynamic economic growth as well as having such beautiful natural surroundings such as the Mediterranean, Red Sea , deserts etc.…
Most Importantly, Egyptian people are very friendly towards foreigners and are quite open-minded. I’m certain this is the reason why both Korean people and Egyptian people are able to become such good friends.
14- President Moon Jae-in appointed BTS as his special envoy for public diplomacy. What is Your comment on his choice and how far did BTS influenced the world?
I think Korea and BTS have a lot in common. Korea has recently become the first country ever to be recognized as a developed country from a developing country.
BTS has grown into the artist that keeps breaking first records and fascinated the globe. BTS is delivering a soft and good influence to the world with songs full of sincerity that tells us to truly love ourselves regardless of age, gender, or nationality. By appointing BTS as a special envoy, I think it will be helpful to Korea's public diplomacy and also to enhance the national image. Public diplomacy is an activity that uses various mechanisms such as culture, art, language, and media to directly approach the general public regardless of their background, and create a positive image by securing their trust.
15- If an Egyptian citizen wants to visit Korea, which places would you recommend and vice versa?
I would like to recommend Jeon-ju where you can see traditional Korean houses and experience traditional culture. Foreign tourists will be able to make good memories while touring Jeon-ju such as Hanok Village, staying at Hanok, and experiencing hanbok. There are various hands- on activities such as making food and experiencing sound, so you will be able to see, hear, and feel Korean traditional culture in personally.
16- Celebrating the “International Day of Girl Child”, you highly welcomed “The Girls Take Over” initiative, as 18-year-old, Eman took your place for the day in the office. From your own perspective, how far did the initiative play a significant role in achieving gender equality?
To mark “The Girls Take Over” initiative, celebrating the International Day of Girls, I invited Eman Emad, an 18 year old Egyptian girl, to the Embassy to shadow me for one day as the Korean Ambassador on Oct 11, 2020.
Addressing gender inequality is a task of great importance. It might be seen as an issue which merits joint cooperation between the two countries and I believe our two nations can share our respective experience in addressing this meaningful task. Everyone should acknowledge its existence to solve it.
Eman expressed her deep happiness with the experience during the day, as she had the chance to play the role of Ambassador even for one day. She also had a chance to have a Zoom meeting with H.E. Mr. Hazem Fahmy, the Egyptian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea then.
This initiative truly played a significant role especially in raising awareness of gender equality.
17- 'Parasite' movie won four Awards in the Oscars, becoming the first non-English film to win the best picture. What’s your reaction when you see that the K-wave is spreading widely around the world?
K-wave content is recognized as a globally competitive content in various fields. First of all, the K-Wave craze that bloomed all over the world is not a temporary or accidental phenomenon, but rather a foundation for Korea's brilliant cultural heritage. I hope that many foreign K-Wave fans will be interested in and deeply understand not only Korean k-pop and k-drama Korean movies, but also brilliant Korean culture and history.
18- South Korea is one of the countries that were first hit by COVID- 19. Could Your Excellency tell us about your country experience in facing the pandemic?
Even though Korea was one of the first countries to be hit by COVID- 19, we were able to flatten the curve guided by wisdom gained in our past experience with infectious diseases such as MERS and SARS. Korea has firmly adhered to the principles of openness, transparency and civic engagement from the very beginning of the outbreak. It has responded to sporadic cluster infections and the evolving nature of the virus by quickly adapting and fine tuning countermeasures, control strategies and preparedness. At the core of Korea’s response to COVID- 19 is a strategy of robust and pre-emptive Testing, Tracing, and Treatment (the 3Ts). This has been built upon the lessons learned from Korea’s experience with similar infectious disease outbreaks in the past, its extensive public health infrastructure, advanced information and communications technology, and the integrated administrative capacity of the government. These elements have all come together to produce a dynamic and continuously evolving system for combating the fast-evolving COVID- 19 pandemic.
Embracing the goal of minimizing the negative impact of COVID- 19, strengthening economic resilience, and preparing for the post-COVID- 19 era, the Korean government developed and implemented various economic measures including the Korean New Deal policy and bold innovation in the industrial and economic structures to stabilize the financial and foreign exchange markets, enhance people’s livelihoods, manage external risks, support low-income families and vulnerable groups, stimulate domestic consumption, create jobs, and boost local economies.
19- What do you think about the current situation in Egypt amid the pandemic?
The Egyptian government has carried out bold and ambitious reforms that have been successful in achieving macroeconomic stabilization and economic recovery and growth. For that reason, the Egyptian economy has shown great resilience amid the COVID- 19 crisis, maintaining a positive outlook from all financial and credit institutions. It is also well worthy of note that Egypt is the only country in the whole MENA region to have achieved a positive economic growth rate despite the pandemic. This proved possible also thanks to the government’s proactive approach to control this pandemic with measures that caused least disruption to business activities and kept the production wheel running.
I can see that this success together with the government's determination to continue its structural reforms generates in the business community even greater confidence in the Egyptian economy. And this in turn offers also good prospects for all Korean companies.
20- You paid a visit to Al Ahly club and cheered for the team many times. How do you perceive Egyptian football in general?
I am very interested in Egyptian soccer and I always cheer for Egypt to win to the extent that I not only visited El Ahly club but also cheered for the Egyptian team during the final match against Senegal in the African cup that was held on the 6th of February along with other Ambassadors and Egyptian locals. I hope that Egypt wins in the qualifying rounds of the upcoming World cup in March and plays in the finals along with Korea. Personally, I believe that Egyptian soccer is as courageous, patient, self-controlled, resilient as the Egyptian people themselves.
21- There is cooperation between Egypt and Korea Development Institute to operate the Science and Technology Park for Electronics Research and Industry (STPERI), Are there any potential areas of cooperation between the two countries in the field of education?
We have a very meaningful cooperation project in the field of education based on the contract concluded in March 2021 between Samsung Electronics and the Ministry of Education for a yearly production of 0.7 million tablet PCs - a total of 4.2 million tablet PCs will be provided to the Egyptian government during the period from 2021-2026. These tablet PCs will be provided to Egyptian high school students for free to aid in their education and studies. This project for cooperation, providing access to sophisticated educational opportunities especially for those in more rural areas and smaller villages, is a milestone for digital education equality in Egypt.
In this regard, I visited the Samsung Electronics factory in Beni Suef on Jan 24 and toured the manufacturing facility for educational tablet PCs, along with Dr. Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, and Dr. Tarek Shawki, Minister of Education.
Contributed by Omnia Ahmed
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