A high-profile visit to Egypt this week by the president of South Korea will allow Seoul closer contact with the Middle East. Roh Moo-hyun's visit to Cairo, including a visit to the Arab League, is the first ever by a South Korean president. In an interview in Al-Ahram on Monday, Roh said he was proud to be visiting Egypt and hoped the tour would enhance his country's relationship not just with Egypt but with the entire region on diplomatic and economic fronts. In an interview with the South Korean news agency, of which an Arabic translation was published this week, President Mubarak stressed Egypt's commitment to improve ties with South Korea. It has been almost 11 years since Egypt and South Korea established diplomatic ties. And it has been seven years since President Mubarak visited Seoul. Both presidents expressed the same sentiments, that during these years relations had improved but that there was much room for increased cooperation especially on the economic front with Egypt hoping to be the gateway for rising Korean exports to the Middle East and Africa. On the political front, Cairo and Seoul seem to have relatively close views especially on the need for a fair and comprehensive settlement to the Arab- Israeli conflict, an end to nuclear proliferation and a comprehensive convention against international terrorism. Egypt and South Korea are also supportive of UN reforms in a fashion favourable to the concerns and aspirations of Third World countries.