Remarks by Korean Ambassador to Egypt KIM Yonghyon on National Foundation Day

In his welcoming remarks at his residence, “the White House in Maadi”, on the Korean National Foundation Day, Korean Ambassador to Egypt KIM Yonghyon said as follows:  Today, we Koreans call it “Gae-Chon-Jol” which literally means “celebration of the day when the Heaven was opened”. The first Korean nation was built on this day some 4,356 years ago. So, today, we are celebrating the 4,356th anniversary of the foundation of our nation. This gives us Koreans the most important sense of national identity as a distinct people and a source of immense pride.

Today, we also celebrate the Armed Forces Day which falls on the 1st of October. I salute all the service members of our armed forces, and those in uniform present here with us tonight. Thank you for your service and devotion!

On a personal note, this evening is the first National Day reception that I host in Cairo. Four months have passed since my arrival in this wonderful country. Let me take this opportunity to convey my heartfelt gratitude to the Egyptian government and people, Korean community as well as colleague ambassadors for their warm welcome, friendship and invaluable guidance. I am truly humbled and immensely grateful for that.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As you all know, Korea has risen from the ruins of the Korean War 70 years ago, to become an economic powerhouse, a leading democracy and a cultural trend setter. Korea is now the 12th biggest economy and the 7th largest trader in the world, one of the most innovative countries, a front-runner in the cutting-edge technology.

Korea is one of the top global car makers, shipbuilders, steel producers, electric vehicle battery manufacturers. Korea’s world market share of semi-conductors (memory chip) exceeds 70%. Samsung Galaxy smart phone’s global market share is more than 20%, exceeding Apple’s 17%. Korea became the 7th country in the world this year to successfully launch satellites into orbit with domestically built space rocket. More than anything else, Korea is the only country in the modern history of the world, which turned itself from an international aid recipient to an ODA donor country.

In this remarkable journey of transformation and achievements, we Koreans owe a lot to the international community’s help as well as the Korean people’s perseverance and hard work. Now we would like to pay back.

We would like to assume more responsibilities and more roles in the international community. With the new vision and strategy of “Global Pivotal State”, or GPS in short, our government would like to contribute more to the freedom, peace and prosperity of the world, based upon shared values and solidarity.

Recently, at the 78th United Nations General Assembly, my president reiterated our strong will to increase our efforts in this regard. In overcoming global challenges like development divide, climate divide, digital divide, Korea is willing to play bigger roles and to share what it has achieved.

As a part of these endeavors, Korea would like to host the 2030 Busan World Expo. Busan,is a gateway that links the Eurasian Continent and the Pacific, a hub of logistics in the region of the most vibrant economies. We are confident that Busan has a lot to offer to the global peace and prosperity. Busanis ready!

Furthermore, with the GPS Initiative, Korea would like to vigorously reach out to this region.We plan to host an inaugural Korea-Africa Summit in Korea in June next year, inviting leaders of the 54 countries in this continent.

Egypt, no doubt, stands out as one of the most important partners of Korea’s in this region.

Dear Friends,

Tonight, our two lovely ladies Dalia Farid and Hanna Lee beautifully sang the Korean and the Egyptian national anthems, touching our hearts.

I learned that the lyrics of the Egyptian national anthem, “Bilady, Bilady, Bilady”, were adapted from the famous speech by legendary national leader Mustafa Kamil.

He said “If I weren’t an Egyptian, I would have wished to be an Egyptian”

With all my humbleness, may I say that “I am an Egyptian. We are all Egyptians!”

During the last 4 months, I’ve come to learn how much the Egyptian people love their country, and how much they are proud of their history and culture. Egypt, a cradle of the human civilization, has captivated the world with its magnificent cultural heritage for thousands of years, and will continue to inspire the world. Indeed, Egypt is the Mother of the World.

Over the past four months, I’ve had a privilege to visit many places, attending various events, and have met many people. Through all these encounters, I have gained a renewed appreciation of the value and depth of the cooperation between Egypt and Korea.

Since President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi’s visit to Korea in 2016, which activated the comprehensive cooperative partnership, Korea-Egypt relations have developed tremendously and continuously.

Egypt is one of our largest export partners in the African continent. Two-way trade volume has increased to 3.2 billion US dollars last year. Seeking to realize huge potentials of trade, a joint expert study will be soon kicked off to discuss concrete ideas of establishing a mutually beneficial bilateral trade regime.

Egypt is also one of Korea’s important investment destinations in Africa, Korea’s investment in Egypt has now reached 800 million US dollars with 34 major companies operating in Egypt, creating thousands of quality jobs for Egyptians.

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are shining examples. Their ‘Made in Egypt’ products are exported to dozens of countries, helping realize Egypt's aspiration to become an economic engine in this region, boosted by manufacture and export bases.

There is no shortage of cooperation in Egypt's various important national projects. We are having excellent cooperation in many areas including nuclear power plant, transportation and defense industries.

Korean companies such as KHNP(Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power) and Doosan Enerbility, are participating in the construction of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant in El Dabaa.

Hyundai Rotem, which has provided the Cairo Metro with high-quality trains since 2012, and will supply 40 more Metro trains. The beauty of these cooperation is the fact that the trains will be manufactured here in Egypt by Egyptian workers in partnership with Egyptian company. The factory is being built at the East Port Said Economic Zone, which I visited last month.

Our two countries are cooperating in green transition, too. We are working on the Suez Canal’s ‘Green Canal Project’ in which diesel-fueled tug boats and ferries in Suez Canal will be replaced by more environment-friendly LNG vessels.

Since its establishment in 1991, KOICA has implemented numerous projects successfully in Egypt. More than 1,800 Egyptians benefited from KOICA’s various short and long term human resources development programs in Korea along with other public and private scholarship programs.

In the area of education, particularly in technology, Korea-Egypt Technological University in BeniSuef is one good example. Itis a symbol of excellent cooperation in technical training of higher education and university-industry collaboration.

Based on the successful implementation of the 1st phase of the project from 2016 to 2022, KOICAwill contribute additional 8 million US dollars to BeniSuef Technological University for its second phase of the project for the next 6 years.

Last week, President El Sisi announced the Government’s plan to increase the number of this type of new innovative technological universities to 27 from the current 10 universities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Last but not least, I believe that people-to-people connections and cultural exchange is a crucially important factor for the future of the ties between Korea and Egypt.

I noticed with a great pleasure that there is a real affinity between our two countries that transcends the geographical distance and different cultural legacies.

So many young Egyptians love K-Pop, K-Dramas, K-Movies, K-Food. They seem to love almost everything that starts with “K”. This high tide of the “Korean Wave” leads to a growing interest in studying Korean language. I am so grateful to Egyptians for this love for Korea.

At the same time, more and more Koreans are also fascinated by the depth of the Egyptian culture and the beauty of its nature. The number of Korean tourists visiting Egypt is recovering to pre-pandemic levels of tens of thousand. However, it seems to me it’s far below the potential, considering that about30 million Koreans out of its 55 million population, travel abroad every year.

I sincerely hope, my fellow Koreans have more chances to see the wonderful cultural and historical heritage of Egypt, I want them to meet so friendly Egyptians and share what they have to offer to each other.

Today, I have a great pleasure to have many fellow Koreans here with us who are in love with Egypt even earlier and more than I do. Let me thank the Korean community in Egypt for not only making an invaluable contributions to deepening the friendly relations between our two nations, but also playing an indispensable role in promoting the economic cooperation and the cultural understanding between Cairo and Seoul; Alexandria and Inchon; Luxor and KyungJu; and Sharm El-Sheik and Jeju; Aswan and Gwangju. These are sister cities between our two countries.

I hope that the Korean community continue to be an inspiring foundation for steadfast and close ties and the firm bonds and bridge of friendship between our two peoples.

Dear Friends,

Tonight, we gathered here to celebrate the birthday of Korea and reflected upon the remarkable journey that we have undertaken.

Over the past 28 years of diplomatic relations, we achieved great cooperation on both governmental and private levels. The bonds between our peoples have been continuously nurtured and deepened. We take a great pride in our accomplishments. We also look to the future with great optimism. I look forward to another important milestone ahead as we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of our diplomatic ties in 2025.

I’d like to close my remarks, by saying that I am most humbled and committed to working closely together with Egyptian friends towards our common goal. Korea, your reliable partner, will continue to stand by you, and will remain your true friendForsure, we will exert every effort to explore new avenues of collaboration in years and decades ahead. Let us work together.

Again, I sincerely thank you all for your gracious presence, for being friends. I hope you all enjoy a wonderful evening! Thank you for your kind attention.