El-Sisi made the remarks in a meeting in Cairo with South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-Seug, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.

Hanafy El-Gebaly, speaker of Egypt’s House of Representatives, and South Korean Ambassador to Cairo Hong Jin Wook attended the meeting.

Park hailed Egypt’s political position as a cornerstone for security and stability in Africa and the Middle East, highlighting its efforts to reach a political settlement to the crises in the region.

Park also lauded Egypt’s efforts towards the peace process by consolidating calm between the Palestinian and Israeli sides and enhancing the humanitarian situation of Palestinians.

Additionally, he praised Egypt’s initiative for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

El-Sisi and Park discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern, on top of which was the Libyan crisis and the Palestinian cause.

The discussions have witnessed a consensus between the two sides on the topics being tackled, the statement affirmed.

Enhancing cooperation

Park conveyed South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in’s greetings to El-Sisi, affirming his keenness to enhance the bilateral cooperation fields between Egypt and South Korea, the statement read.

This includes especially expanding Korean investments in Egypt and benefiting from its strategic position to access markets in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, Park explained.

He also called for activating a comprehensive cooperative partnership between Egypt and South Korea in a way that befits the capabilities of the two countries and endorses the transference of Korea’s developmental experiment to Egypt.

This comes especially in light of the modern infrastructure Egypt has established over the past years, Park said, hailing the comprehensive progress the country has witnessed under El-Sisi within Egypt’s 2030 Development Strategy.

El-Sisi and Park also discussed ways of benefitting from the Korean experience in technological industries and localising the electric vehicle industry and related industries.

They discussed cooperation between Egypt and South Korea in the face of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

El-Sisi asked that his greetings be conveyed to President Moon Jae-in and affirmed Egypt’s appreciation of the historic relations with South Korea.

The Egyptian president praised the recent achievements made on the level of bilateral relations with South Korea, saying these achievements have boosted cooperation between the two countries in all fields.

South Korean Minister of National Defense Suh Wook visited Egypt late in August, during which he discussed cooperation in military and security fields in meetings with El-Sisi, Minister of Defence Mohamed Zaki, and Minister of State for Military Production Mohamed Ahmed Morsy.

Last May, the South Korean government announced that Egypt will be the official development assistance (ODA) priority partner country and the key development partner in the MENA region over the coming five years (2021-2025).

The announcement came during a meeting between Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat and the South Korean ambassador to Cairo, where they reviewed the status of ongoing ODA grants worth $2.7 million, including $1.9 million for newly implemented projects in 2021.