The Presidency
Today in the Korean capital Seoul, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi participated in a roundtable meeting with the Chief Executive Officers of major companies and representatives of the business community in the Republic of Korea. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the President’s state visit to the Republic of Korea.
Spokesman for the Presidency Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy said twenty-three leading Korean companies took part in the meeting, during which President El-Sisi lauded the firm economic and investment partnership between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Republic of Korea. The President affirmed Egypt’s commitment to further advancing collaboration with the Korean side to elevate cooperation to higher and more ambitious prospects.
Addressing the meeting, the President expressed his appreciation for the outstanding role played by Korean companies as trusted partners in supporting Egypt’s comprehensive development efforts.
President El-Sisi underscored the robust Egyptian political will to foster closer cooperation with the Republic of Korea and expand its prospects, particularly in the economic, investment, manufacturing, and technology fields.
President El-Sisi reviewed the measures undertaken by the Egyptian State in recent years to reform the economy, improve the investment climate, and create a conducive business environment. These efforts included implementing a comprehensive program of structural and economic reforms, encompassing the exchange rate liberalization, the modernization of legislative and regulatory frameworks governing investment, and the expansion of the private sector’s role as a principal partner in the development process.
The President noted that the positive outcomes of these measures have been reflected in economic indicators and assessments by international institutions, thereby reinforcing confidence in the Egyptian economy and its capacity to attract more investment.
President El-Sisi highlighted the comprehensive package of investment incentives and facilities provided by the Egyptian State. These include streamlining procedures through the single-window system and providing industrial land at competitive rates and with state-of-the-art infrastructure built to the highest standards.
This is in addition to maintaining Egypt’s steadfast commitment to offering full guarantees to safeguard investments and ensure the unrestricted repatriation of profits. Moreover, the State is implementing specialized programs to train and qualify the Egyptian workforce to meet the demands of modern enterprises. President El-Sisi also emphasized Egypt’s keenness on facilitating competitive financing to support partnerships and remove potential obstacles facing investors, including provisions for bringing in the expert technical personnel required for project implementation in Egypt.
The President also asserted that Egypt seeks to strengthen cooperation with the Republic of Korea across several strategically prioritized projects. President El-Sisi renewed the invitation to establish a fully integrated Korean Industrial Zone within the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE). The President affirmed that such a zone could serve as a regional production and export hub for Korean corporations, noting that this strategic hub would not only meet the demands of Egypt’s expansive domestic market but also offer access to regional and global markets, leveraging the extensive network of free trade agreements connecting Egypt with Africa, the European Union, and the Arab nation states.
President El-Sisi also noted that Egypt’s vision for partnership with the Republic of Korea extends beyond the concept of traditional trade exchange to encompass the localization of industry, technology transfer, capacity building, and fostering of innovation.
The President emphasized Egypt’s welcoming of industrial and investment partnerships based on joint manufacturing in vital sectors, including shipbuilding, automotive manufacturing, electronics, petrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals, as well as advanced technology, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and data centers. This is in addition to promising opportunities for cooperation in agriculture, food processing, aquaculture, textiles, and tourism, particularly in new development projects extending along the Red Sea and Mediterranean coasts.
President El-Sisi also underscored the importance of Korean companies considering the expansion of their investments in the oil, gas, and mining sectors, as well as leveraging opportunities available in new, renewable, and clean energy projects, including solar power, wind energy, green hydrogen, smart grids, and energy-storage technologies.
The President further highlighted the significant potential for partnerships between Egyptian and Korean companies to implement joint construction, building, and infrastructure projects in Arab and African countries. The President also stressed the importance of activating the role of the Egyptian-Korean Business Council, working toward the regular holding of a joint economic forum, and developing specific action plans to ensure that the available opportunities are translated into tangible projects on the ground.
The event also featured an interactive dialogue with the Korean business community, during which participants explored opportunities for establishing strategic and sustainable partnerships between Egypt and the Republic of Korea. The participants expressed their appreciation for the President’s remarks, praising the measures taken by the Egyptian state over the past several years to facilitate the implementation of trade and investment partnerships and improve the business climate. They emphasized the need to continue working toward developing joint initiatives that serve the interests of both sides, capitalizing on the promising opportunities for Egyptian-Korean cooperation across various fields.
They also expressed the Korean companies’ interest in operating in Egypt, given its strategic geographic location, attractive investment environment, and status as a gateway to Africa and the broader region.
President El-Sisi reiterated the state’s commitment to providing all necessary facilities to investors, particularly Korean investors, and called on them to take advantage of the facilities offered by Egypt. The President described investment in Egypt as a valuable opportunity given the country’s stability, and invited Korean companies to visit Egypt to explore investment opportunities, learn about the facilities provided by the state, and identify potential partnerships.
