Both sides exchanged views on furthering developing technical education and Korean language education in particular.

Ambassador Kim mentioned that he is glad that Egypt, as a priority Official Development Assistance (ODA) partner, is implementing a number of cooperation projects in the field of education, which is one of the five main areas of cooperation between the two nations.

Kim vowed to continue to make efforts to enhance development cooperation in the field of education.

In particular, the Korean ambassador said that the first phase of the cooperation project between KOICA and Beni Suef University of Technology was successfully completed last year and that the second phase of the project worth $8 million will be implemented starting this year.

The main goal of the second phase is to strengthen academic industrial education through the opening of a railway department, he explained.

The Korean government has provided approximately $340 million in the form of developmental loans and grants to Egypt. Egypt ranks 10th highest among 139 ODA recipients over the past five years and has been a priority partner since 2021 in five key areas: education, transportation, environment/energy, communications, and public administration.

About 70 Egyptian students studied in Korea through the Global Korea Study (GKS) scholarship programme in the field of higher education, most of whom are master's and doctoral students. More than 1,800 Egyptian government employees also participated in short- and long-term training programmes in Korea through KOICA programs. In addition, about 130 government employees completed master's degrees through KOICA programmes.

For his part, Minister Ashour agreed that cooperation between Egypt and Korea in the field of higher education is progressing very actively. He also expressed gratitude for Kim’s congratulatory speech at the first graduation ceremony for three technical universities, including Beni Suef Technical University last September.

The minister added that he hopes that Korea will be able to contribute more to the development of higher education in Egypt.

At the same time, Ashour also said that there is great eagerness and enthusiasm in Egypt to learn the Korean language, suggesting the two countries should promote its instruction in universities.

The Korean ambassador pointed out that Korea has become one of the seven space powers in the world by successfully launching the domestic Nuri spacecraft this year, suggesting that cooperation between the two countries could include space development.

The meeting was also attended by the Head of Economic Affairs at the Korean Embassy Oh Sanghun, the Director of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Office in Cairo Kim Jinyoung, and the Head of Cultural Affairs and Mission Sector Sherif Saleh. From the Egyptian side, Advisor to the Minister for International Cooperation Professor Salma Yousry also attended.