Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation Nagla Al-Ahwani is currently holding talks with the South Korean government to obtain a concessional loan worth $ 115m to develop Egypt's railway sector. An official statement from the ministry on Monday indicated that Al-Ahwani met with South Korea's ambassador to Egypt Chung Kwang. The statement added that, both parties signed a joint letter during the meeting concerning the implementation of feasibility studies needed to operate an integrated technological educational complex located in the Cairo district of Al-Amiria. The preparation of the feasibility studies will take place via a grant worth $1m provided by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). South Korea is an important development partner for Egypt, Al-Ahwani said. Egypt has received, in the last decade, much in the way of aid and grants from the Korean government. These have been used for the development of Egyptian nationals' skills, particularly in the electricity, industry and information technology sectors, a ministry statement said. The Korean government is currently cooperating with the Ministry of Electricity by providing a $2.6m non-refundable grant to complete the second phase of the "development and automation of the electrical distribution system in North Cairo". The cooperation between KOICA and Egypt dates back to 1991, and includes: dispatching Korean experts to Egypt; providing training courses; and funding feasibility studies for a number of projects. KOICA provides annual aid to Egypt worth approximately $5m, according to the official website of the State Information Services (SIS). Source: Daily News Egypt
