Egypt's Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr, is expected to pay a two-day visit to South Korea by the end of February where she will launch an Egyptian-Korean business forum, a government source told Daily News Egypt on condition of anonymity. Egyptian-Korean relations have been improving recently, especially after President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's recent visit to Seoul in 2016, in which he signed several agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in various fields with the South Korean President Park Chung-hee. "The minister will be accompanied with a business delegation. She will discuss with the Korean side their successful expertise in the establishment of free zones," the source added, noting that the ministry along with South Korea embassy in Egypt are currently preparing for the visit. In August, Nasr signed an agreement with the South Korean Ambassador to Egypt, Yeocheol Yoon, in the presence of the Transport Minister, Hisham Arafat. The agreement is worth €243m for the procurement and manufacturing of 32 air-conditioned trains for Cairo Metro's Line 3. Nasr said that her ministry pays great interest in encouraging foreign direct investment, calling on Korean companies to increase their investments in Egypt, according to past media reports. A financing package of $3bn was announced during Al-Sisi's visit to South Korea in 2016. The package has two parts, the first includes $700m provided by the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) with a low-interest loan and a long-term repayment period over 30 years. The rest of the funding is $2.3bn, which will be used as export credit.
