Relationship dossier
Egypt
South Korea
Relationship assessment
Egypt and South Korea cooperate on defense, investment and economic development.
Egypt toward South Korea
+40Egypt has pursued closer economic and defense cooperation with South Korea, including agreeing in 2022 to acquire K9 self-propelled howitzers with provision for local production.
South Korea toward Egypt
+40South Korea has supplied Egypt with defense equipment through the 2022 K9 agreement and Korean companies have established substantial commercial operations in Egypt.
Overall relationship
+40The relationship combines a government commitment to deepen partnership, made during President el-Sisi’s 2016 visit to Seoul, with practical defense procurement and commercial ties. The K9 agreement provides a notable example of cooperation extending beyond diplomatic contact.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Egypt and South Korea have developed substantive economic and defense cooperation. During President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s 2016 visit to Seoul, the governments agreed to deepen their partnership. In 2022, Egypt agreed to acquire South Korean K9 self-propelled howitzers, with provision for local production. South Korean firms also maintain a significant commercial presence in Egypt.
Key developments
During President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s visit to Seoul, Egypt and South Korea agreed to deepen their bilateral partnership.
Egypt agreed to acquire South Korean K9 self-propelled howitzers, with provision for local production.
Major uncertainties
- The scale and implementation of planned local production of K9 howitzers are unclear.
- The current scope of bilateral development and investment cooperation is unclear.