Egypt’s Minister of Housing Meets South Korean Ambassador to Discuss Strengthening Cooperation

Eng. Sherif El-Sherbiny, Egypt’s Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, met with South Korean Ambassador to Cairo, Kim Young Hyun, and his accompanying delegation at the Ministry’s headquarters in the New Administrative Capital. The meeting was held to congratulate the minister on his new role and explore avenues for cooperation between Egypt and South Korea. The meeting was also attended by Dr. Abdel Khaleq Ibrahim, Assistant Minister for Technical Affairs, and Ambassador Hassan El-Leithy, the Ministry’s Advisor for International Cooperation.

Minister El-Sherbiny highlighted Egypt’s strong interest in enhancing relations with South Korea, particularly in areas such as knowledge transfer, industrial localization, and investment. He encouraged the South Korean embassy to invite businesspeople, investors, and manufacturers to explore the numerous investment opportunities in sectors like seawater desalination and fourth-generation city technologies, which fall under the Ministry’s purview.

The Minister outlined Egypt’s significant achievements in various sectors, including housing, drinking water, sanitation, and new city development. He emphasized the critical need for planned urban expansion, driven by a strategic national plan, to accommodate the country’s growing population, in line with the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

El-Sherbiny also emphasized Egypt’s priority in promoting local industries and opening production lines for building materials and equipment. He noted the deep and robust ties between Egypt and South Korea, referencing the ongoing collaboration on smart city solutions in the city of Badr, in partnership with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). The project aims to deliver services to the local community using technological systems.

Ambassador Kim Young Hyun expressed his country’s desire to strengthen relations with Egypt, particularly in the fields covered by the Ministry of Housing. He praised Egypt’s efforts in improving water and sanitation services and highlighted South Korea’s potential contributions to infrastructure projects, especially those under the “Decent Life” presidential initiative aimed at developing rural areas in Egypt.

The ambassador mentioned that South Korea has several funding programs for developing countries, including grants under the “KOICA” program and financing through the “Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund.” He suggested that several of the Ministry’s projects might qualify for these funding mechanisms, which align with development goals and benefit many Egyptians.

Ambassador Kim also pointed out that Egypt has been prioritized for access to concessional financing from South Korea for the period 2021-2025, with potential for extension. He requested that Egypt provide proposals for projects that could benefit from these grants or concessional loans.

In response, Minister El-Sherbiny welcomed the idea of exploring these funding opportunities, aligning with Egypt’s national priorities. The two sides agreed to continue coordinating to identify potential projects, with a particular focus on seawater desalination and sustainable smart city initiatives.