Korea, Egypt to begin joint study on free trade deal

President Moon Jae-in and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi held a summit, Thursday (local time), and exchanged their views on future-oriented and sustainable bilateral cooperation.

The summit drew keen attention on whether the two countries would reach a deal on Korea's exports of K-9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers to Egypt. Although there was no announcement of a deal, Moon kept a positive note on K-9 exports, citing the two countries' recognition of the benefits of the pact.

Moon arrived in Cairo a day earlier, marking the first Korean presidential visit to Egypt in 16 years. The official visit was scheduled in March last year, but had been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The two countries formed a comprehensive cooperative partnership when the Egyptian president visited Korea in 2016.

"Egypt and Korea have been cooperating in economy, diplomacy, culture and various other fields," Moon said during a joint press briefing after the summit at the presidential palace in Cairo. "We, the leaders of the two countries, have recognized that the two countries' comprehensive cooperative partnership has brought reciprocal benefits to both countries and agreed to strengthen sustainable and future-oriented cooperation."