Egypt, Korea Agree to Establish Political, Economic Partnership

 Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Cairo on Thursday, January 20, 2022. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Cairo on Thursday, January 20, 2022. (Egyptian Presidency)
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Egypt, Korea Agree to Establish Political, Economic Partnership

 Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Cairo on Thursday, January 20, 2022. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Cairo on Thursday, January 20, 2022. (Egyptian Presidency)

Egypt and South Korea agreed on Thursday to establish an economic and political partnership within an integrated strategic framework for the various aspects and fields of cooperation.

This came during the meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in at al-Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo.

Egypt is proud of the deep ties with South Korea, Sisi told a joint press conference, calling for activating comprehensive bilateral partnership that would serve the interests of both peoples.

He underlined the importance of holding political consultation and strategic dialogue to push forward bilateral cooperation.

Sisi said Egypt looks forward to attract Korean firms to invest in the country and is willing to facilitate their work in the fields of energy, mining, information technology, artificial intelligence.

The visit comes in light of the mutual keenness to hold talks and exchange visions and views on various topics and issues of common concern.

Jae-in, for his part, said his visit to Egypt is special, saying it's the first visit by a South Korean president to Egypt in 16 years.

He underscored the need to establish a comprehensive bilateral partnership that would bring benefits to the two peoples and promote sustainable cooperation in the future.

He said he agreed with Sisi to expand the horizons of economic cooperation, and decided to boost the value of sustainable partnership by allocating $1 billion in the Economic Development Cooperation Fund and work together to exchange development policies and promote innovation.

Seoul will cooperate with Cairo to convince the international community to respond to the climate change issue, Jae-in affirmed, adding that they agreed to bolster cooperation in the fields of renewable energy and eco-friendly infrastructure.



18,000 Syrians Returned Home from Jordan Since Assad’s Fall

Syrians work at a vegetables market in Aleppo, on December 23, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)
Syrians work at a vegetables market in Aleppo, on December 23, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)
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18,000 Syrians Returned Home from Jordan Since Assad’s Fall

Syrians work at a vegetables market in Aleppo, on December 23, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)
Syrians work at a vegetables market in Aleppo, on December 23, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)

About 18,000 Syrians have crossed into their country from Jordan since the government of Bashar Assad was toppled earlier this month, Jordanian authorities said on Thursday.
Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya told state TV channel Al-Mamlaka that “around 18,000 Syrians have returned to their country between the fall of the regime of Bashar Assad on December 8, 2024 until Thursday.”
He said the returnees included 2,300 refugees registered with the United Nations.
Amman says it has hosted about 1.3 million Syrians who fled their country since civil war broke out in 2011, with 650,000 formally registered with the United Nations.

Earlier this month, Al-Faraya said that security circumstances now allow Syrian refugees to return to their country.

"What prevented refugees from returning to their country was the security issue and now this has changed,” he said.

The minister said information suggests that security conditions on the northern border of the Kingdom with Syria are stable, adding that what is happening today in Syria represents "the end of a tragedy and years of suffering."

The Jaber-Nasib border crossing, which is located about 80 kilometers west of Amman, is currently the only functioning crossing between the two countries.