The agreement was signed by Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat and Korean Ambassador to Egypt Kim Yong-Hyun with the EDCF, a statement by the Korean Embassy read.

Under the agreement, the Korean government, represented by the EDCF, will provide $460 million out of the total project cost of $656 million, the embassy added.

The deal is related to an agreement signed 10 month ago with the Korean company Hyundai Rotem.

In August 2022, Egypt’s National Tunnels Authority (NAT) signed a $656 million deal with the Korean manufacturer and supplier of railway systems to locally produce and import 320 new air-conditioned metro carriages by 2028. 

The deal, overseen by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, provides a total of 40 new metro carriages to the two lines of the Cairo Metro.

“The two countries are witnessing the strengthening of cooperation more than ever before,” the embassy statement quoted Al-Mashat as saying.

The agreement is one of the excellent examples of cooperation between the two countries. It is meant to expand transportation networks and boost economic development, Al-Mashat added. 

Ambassador Kim -- who assumed his post as ambassador as of 31 May -- described the agreement as a prominent example of steps aimed at strengthening development cooperation between the two countries.

The project is expected to be the cornerstone of more projects between the two countries in the future, and will contribute to a tangible improvement in the standard of living of the Egyptian people, Kim added.

The ambassador noted that he would work to enhance economic and development cooperation during his tenure in Egypt and expand cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries. 

Egyptian-Korean economic and development relations

Korea and Egypt have recently witnessed an unparalleled level of collaboration, particularly in the area of development cooperation.

Last year, the Korean government designated Egypt as an Official Development Assistance (ODA) priority partner for 2021-2025.

Along with cooperation in the transportation sector, the two nations are cooperating actively in other fields, such as the defence sector, including their joint manufacturing of K9 howitzer artillery vehicles, in addition to building two multi-purpose MPC14K ships. 

Korea is cooperating on constructing Egypt's first Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant through Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. Ltd. (KHNP) in partnership with Russian Rosatom, as per their agreement of August 2022. Based on this cooperation, KHNP will build facilities and supply materials for the plant.

According to a report released by the Cairo office of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency earlier this year, Egypt’s exports to Korea recorded an increase of 161 percent in 2022 year-on-year, reaching an all-time high of $1.69 billion.