(2nd LD) Lee, Egyptian president agree to elevate bilateral ties to strategic partnership

SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung and Egyptian President Abdel F...

Yonhap NewsYi Wonju2026-10-08 13:21查看原文 ↗

President Lee Jae Myung (R) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi hold a joint press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Oct. 8, 2026. (Yonhap)

This will let Google show Yonhap news articles that match or are related to your search

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with info from press briefing; CHANGES headline; ADDS photo)

SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi agreed to elevate bilateral ties and expand cooperation in trade, defense and other areas during their summit Thursday.

The two leaders made the announcement in a joint press briefing following their talks at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, where they agreed to upgrade the bilateral relations to a strategic partnership.

"Today in Seoul, we issued a joint statement elevating our bilateral relations to a strategic partnership and agreed to turn our previous agreements into tangible outcomes for the people of both countries," Lee said.

President Lee Jae Myung (R) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi hold a joint press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Oct. 8, 2026. (Yonhap)

The leaders also officially announced the launch of negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), following their agreement on the trade pact during their summit in Cairo last year.

CEPA is a type of free trade agreement that promotes broader economic cooperation beyond market liberalization, including investment and other areas of economic collaboration.

To promote cooperation, the two nations signed or revised 12 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) covering economic, industrial, energy, technological and cultural exchanges.

Under these deals, the two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in shipbuilding, defense and technology, including in the areas of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

El-Sisi arrived in South Korea the previous day on a three-day state visit, his first trip to the country since 2016.

Following an official welcoming ceremony in the front garden of Cheong Wa Dae earlier in the day, which included a joint inspection of an honor guard, the two leaders held talks first in a restricted format and then in an expanded format that included senior officials from both sides.

The leaders were scheduled to attend a state luncheon later, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

"We expect President El-Sisi's state visit to serve as an important opportunity to develop South Korea-Egypt ties into a strategic partnership and further strengthen our country's cooperation with Africa and the Middle East," presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said earlier.

The two leaders last met in November during Lee's visit to Egypt.

President Lee Jae Myung (R) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi pose for a photo ahead of summit talks at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Oct. 8, 2026. (Yonhap)

President Lee Jae Myung (R) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi walk side by side after jointly inspecting an honor guard during an official welcoming ceremony for the Egyptian president at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Oct. 8, 2026. (Yonhap)

hague@yna.co.kr (END)

Egyptian president to make state visit to S. Korea this week

Egypt seeks greater S. Korean investment, deeper economic ties: envoy

(2nd LD) Lee, Egypt's El-Sisi agree to deepen cooperation on regional peace, defense ties

(2nd LD) Lee, Egyptian president agree to elevate bilateral ties to strategic partnership

这将使谷歌能够向您展示与您的搜索匹配或相关的韩联社新闻文章。

（注意：全文根据新闻发布会信息更新；标题已更改；新增照片）

首尔，10月8日（韩联社）——韩国总统李在明和埃及总统阿卜杜勒·法塔赫·塞西在周四的峰会上同意提升双边关系，并扩大在贸易、国防和其他领域的合作。

两国领导人在首尔青瓦台会谈后举行的联合新闻发布会上宣布了这一消息。会谈中，他们同意将双边关系提升为战略伙伴关系。

李说：“今天在首尔，我们发表了一份联合声明，将双边关系提升为战略伙伴关系，并同意将我们之前的协议转化为造福两国人民的切实成果。”

2026年10月8日，韩国总统李在明（右）与埃及总统阿卜杜勒·法塔赫·塞西在首尔青瓦台举行联合记者会。（韩联社）

继去年在开罗峰会上就贸易协定达成一致后，两国领导人还正式宣布启动全面经济伙伴关系协定（CEPA）的谈判。