Monday, 25 May 2026
Egypt and South Korea strengthen bilateral ties at UN General Assembly
Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs, Dr. Badr Abdelatty, on Friday met with South Korea’s Foreign Minister, Cho Hyun, who also serves as the current President of the UN Security Council. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the high-level segment of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The discussions focused on enhancing bilateral relations between Egypt and South Korea across various sectors, particularly as 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of their diplomatic ties. Minister Abdelatty expressed Egypt’s commitment to furthering economic and trade cooperation, highlighting recent progress in joint projects and the growing volume of South Korean investments in Egypt, especially in infrastructure, renewable energy, and clean energy sectors.
Abdelatty emphasized the promising investment opportunities in Egypt’s major projects, including the New Administrative Capital and the Suez Canal Economic Zone. He also highlighted potential collaborations in manufacturing and transporting hydrogen gas, batteries, electric vehicles, green technology, and energy storage. The minister expressed hope for establishing a Korean industrial zone within the Suez Canal Economic Zone to foster joint manufacturing, localize industries, and leverage Egypt’s legislative and financial incentives.
On the international stage, Abdelatty underscored Egypt’s desire to continue coordination with South Korea in multilateral forums, particularly given South Korea’s non-permanent membership and current presidency of the UN Security Council. He praised South Korea’s recent stances on the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
Additionally, the minister highlighted the potential for trilateral cooperation in Africa, referencing the memorandum of understanding signed between the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) during the Korea-Africa Summit in June 2024.
Addressing regional developments, Abdelatty outlined the dire consequences of ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza, rejecting any notion of a state acting above international law. He firmly opposed the displacement of Palestinians and stressed the need to establish a Palestinian state in line with international frameworks.
He urged the UN Security Council to fulfill its responsibilities by taking measures to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.
On water security, Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt’s rejection of unilateral actions in the Eastern Nile Basin that violate international law. He emphasized that Egypt would take all necessary measures, in accordance with international law, to protect its water security, describing the Nile River as an existential issue for Egypt.
He also stressed the importance of cooperation with African nations based on international law to serve the mutual interests of Nile Basin countries.