South Korean President Lee Jae Myung today held discussions with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo, Egypt. Both the leaders agreed to work together to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East while strengthening economic and defense industry cooperation.

Mr. Lee said President of Egypt El-Sisi praised Seoul’s efforts to open a new era of peaceful coexistence and shared growth on the Korean Peninsula. Mr. Lee praised Egypt’s efforts to secure a ceasefire and advance reconstruction in the Gaza Strip. He said, South Korea will continue cooperating with Egypt to help address the humanitarian crisis facing Gaza refugees.

Mr. Lee said the two sides also discussed ways to expand mutually beneficial defence cooperation beyond the joint production of K9 howitzers into such areas as aircraft and ground weapons systems.

In 2022, Egypt signed a 1.7 billion US dollars contract with Korean defence firm to procure K9 self-propelled howitzers and other equipment.