Moon is in Egypt from 19 to 21 January as part of his Middle East tour that started earlier this week in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. 

His visit to Egypt is the first by a South Korean president in 16 years.

It comes as part of a comprehensive partnership agreement signed between the two countries during El-Sisi’s visit to Seoul in March 2016.

El-Sisi said Egypt seeks to attract South Korean investments by providing the necessary facilities and creating an investment climate that could incubate South Korean projects.

In the meeting, El-Sisi and Moon agreed on the importance of continuing political consultations.

Moon said that Egypt is a unitary state that has important historical and geographic advantages, adding that the comprehensive partnership between Cairo and Seoul has a historic momentum. 

He added that he agreed with El-Sisi on bolstering partnership in sustainable development and clean and renewable energy.

The presidents saw as crucial the signing of several memoranda of understanding (MoU), including the $1 billion deal on “financial cooperation” from 2022 to 2026 between the two countries. 

No more details on the MoU were provided. However, the South Korean Ambassador to Cairo Hong Jin-Wook told journalists earlier this week that South Korea expects to sign a MoU for a $1 billion soft loan to Egypt. 

Other MoUs include a joint feasibility study for economic and trade partnership and a $251 million loan to upgrade the Luxor-High Dam railway line. 

A grant of $8 million has also been signed.

Trade exchange between Egypt and South Korea increased by 23.6 percent in the first 10 months of 2021 to record $1.9 billion, up from $1.6 billion in the corresponding period of 2020, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics. 

Trade exchange included oil products, cement, granite, aluminum, among others.

South Korean investments in Egypt reached $19.7 million in fiscal year 2019/2020, up from $12.1 million in the corresponding period of 2018/2019.