It was one of the ordinary, scorching, and sweltering afternoons in a Sohag village in September 2022. More than 200 villagers gathered in a makeshift tent to watch a play written and staged by their sons, daughters, nephews, and nieces. Two little girls aged seven or eight were sitting on the floor at the centre of the stage, playing with dolls, until one of them was about to be taken away by force to marry an old neighbour. The scene left the audience trembling with bitterness and anger, some even sobbing (including myself).
My agency has supported youth groups and religious and community leaders in Upper Egyptian villages, in cooperation with the UN Population Fund and the National Council for Women, to raise awareness about eliminating all forms of violence and harmful practices against women and girls. Our partners have built a shared understanding of what needs to change and why, and have strengthened their capacities to act as a community.
On that hot day, with temperatures reaching 42 degrees Celsius, the people of the Sohag village shared testimonies and commitments through the youths who portrayed a repentant villain, enlightened guardians, and empowered victims of gender-based violence. Yet what thrilled me beyond words was that the two little girls, who played the role of vulnerable beings, undoubtedly made a splendid debut in real life as well, ready to grow into independent and self-fulfilled young women.
Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the Korean government’s official development cooperation agency, has been working with Egypt since its inception in 1991. We have contributed, through projects worth $100 million, to the social and economic development of this respectable and remarkable country. Our constant focus lies in improving technical education at a higher level, enhancing government services through digital technology, strengthening social protection for women and vulnerable groups, and tapping their potential as self-reliant agents of change. More than 2,000 Egyptian government officials have visited Korea for capacity building, while 350 Korean volunteers have supported public community services in Egypt by transferring their technical expertise.
I once heard a pleasant joke from a high-ranking government official: if any Egyptian government officer wants to be a leader, he or she must undergo KOICA training. This joke refers to the fact that Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly himself participated in a KOICA capacity building programme on urban development and planning in 2001. Egypt is the sole priority country in the MENA region for the Korean government’s development cooperation. While this year marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, their mutual partnership remains solid and continues to mature.
Development cooperation has a human face. As I look back on the last three years in Egypt, completing my term this month as the first female country director of the KOICA Egypt Office, I recall him, her and them, and our shared moments at the heart of projects.
I met him again after 20 years at the Embaba automotive vocational training centre operated by the PVTD (Productivity and Vocational Training Department) under the Ministry of Transport and Industry. The KOICA Egypt Office had supported automotive maintenance VTCs in Cairo, Giza, and Alexandria for 20 years from 1993, investing a cumulative $10m. A comprehensive new $10m project kicks off this month, covering all KOICA-supported VTCs. The project aims to update the curriculum and standardise a training-of-trainers scheme and a maintenance training programme for environment-friendly vehicles, aligned with the Egyptian government’s green mobility initiative.
He was a young instructor back then and is now a zone director. He has witnessed the evolution of technical education alongside KOICA projects and has been involved in pilot training programmes with the private sector for the maintenance of environment-friendly vehicles. The deepened partnership with KOICA will enable him to play a key role in establishing an advanced hub for automotive maintenance training in Egypt.
He is a graduate of Beni Suef Technological University (BTU), majoring in mechatronics. The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research introduced a new technological education system at the university level in 2019, reflecting the far-reaching insight of government leadership into the labour gap and the needs of key industries in Egypt. The technological universities aim to produce fully qualified field supervisors equipped with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Graduates can direct and monitor the work that technicians are required to carry out at factories, based on engineers’ designs from their desks in the office.
The KOICA Egypt Office has been supporting BTU since its establishment in 2019 through $14m in grant projects for curriculum development and providing equipment relevant to labour market needs. BTU has received internationally recognised accreditation, and the Railway Technology faculty will be launched this year. We will soon see multiple collaborations among government, academia, and the private sector involving the Ministry of Transport and Industry, the National Tunnel Authority, Hyundai Rotem (a global railway technology company from Korea), BTU, and KOICA. This model will enable our students to learn theories and skills through immersive on-the-job training, keeping them abreast of relevant industrial needs.
So, back to our mechatronics graduate. He is now heading to Korea this summer to pursue his master’s degree in mechatronic engineering after earning a competitive full scholarship from the Korean government. I’ve known him as a diligent student of Korean language and a hardworking assistant to KOICA volunteers teaching Korean and computer skills at the University-Industry Cooperation Centre of BTU. His acceptance into a master’s programme at a Korean university shows that the Egyptian government’s initiative to promote quality education for skilled youths ready to contribute to Egypt’s growing industries is bearing fruit. Congratulations to him, and thanks to the leadership at BTU for their constant cooperation.
Self-driven reformers among public service leaders and managers, committed to achieving breakthroughs and transformation, have always impressed me through every aspect of their initiatives, actions, and feedback. Colleagues from the General Organization for Export and Import Control (GOEIC) under the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade are true pioneers. They approached the Korean government to jointly conduct a feasibility study, aiming to produce policy recommendations for introducing a risk-based import/export cargo examination process at border points. Their tenacious pursuit of reducing processing time through an accurate AI-based algorithm has led to tangible cooperation between KOICA and GOEIC.
Both governments are now in the process of officially approving a joint project worth $11m, which is set to launch this year. The project aims to reduce the duration of customs inspections by half during its implementation period and is expected to boost trade and foster a favourable business climate in Egypt. I am confident that the GOEIC team, with strong support from the minister, will manage to reduce the time even further within a few years after the completion of the project.
Certainly, there have been—and still are—periods of challenges, waiting, unforeseen external factors, and untapped opportunities. However, I believe that Egypt and Korea will continue to cooperate and prosper together, as we are beginning to see positive signs of economic recovery, which could unlock new opportunities. We have built strong trust with the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which serve as the coordinating ministries of the Egyptian government for our work in the country. We still remember the warm hospitality and appreciation for our partnership shown by Prime Minister Madbouly, ministers, partner organisations, and colleagues during the historic first visit of the KOICA president to Egypt in November 2024, which marked the completion of the country’s first online public procurement system introduced with KOICA’s support in cooperation with the General Authority of Government Services (GAGS).
I have cherished the heartfelt welcome and the spirit of kindness and care I encountered everywhere. I also deeply appreciate my KOICA Egypt Office team, who are capable, devoted, philanthropic, and humorous.
As I conclude my time in Cairo, I’d like to share a quote from the opening lines of the British writer Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, the age of wisdom, the epoch of belief, the season of light, and the spring of hope. We had everything before us.”
Alhamdulillah for everything, and inshallah, I will come back to the land of the Nile someday.
Jinyoung Kim, Country Director of KOICA Egypt Office
