CAIRO — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday unveiled a complete initiative for cooperation within the Center East that goals to advertise regional peace, deepen financial partnerships and increase cultural and people-to-people exchanges, as he was in Cairo on a multinational journey to the area.
Talking at Cairo College, Lee outlined the “SHINE” initiative, which stands for stability, concord, innovation, community and schooling, as he underlined his administration’s dedication to strengthening ties with the area — essential for power safety, commerce and different areas of cooperation.
Stability and concord — the 2 parts of the initiative — will function key ideas for efforts to determine peace on the Korean Peninsula and within the Center East, Lee identified.
“Our authorities goals to finish the period of hostility and confrontation between the 2 Koreas and open a brand new period of peaceable coexistence and shared development,” Lee stated.
“We are going to steadily increase inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation, assist North Korea’s efforts to normalize relations with the US and the worldwide neighborhood, and pursue a phased and pragmatic strategy to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” he added.
Since taking workplace in June, Lee has sought to renew inter-Korean dialogue and proposed a three-phase roadmap to halt, cut back and dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program, although it stays unclear whether or not the recalcitrant regime would accede to dialogue overtures.
Lee stated Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi expressed “agency assist” for his peace initiative throughout their summit earlier within the day.
He highlighted South Korea’s contributions to Center East peace, together with the deployment of its peacekeeping contingent in Lebanon in 2007 and its backing for a constructive decision to the Israel-Palestine battle.
Lee additionally pledged $10 million in assist to the Egyptian Crimson Crescent, hoping to assist humanitarian reduction and restoration efforts within the Gaza Strip.
Innovation is one other key component of the Center East initiative, underlining the Lee administration’s want to increase cooperation to cowl new areas, resembling synthetic intelligence and hydrogen applied sciences, whereas cementing collaboration in conventional sectors, together with development and power.
He vowed to strengthen the “institutional basis” of financial ties with Egypt by pushing for a Complete Financial Partnership Settlement between the 2 nations — a pact that will decrease commerce limitations and deepen financial engagement.
Lee famous that South Korea’s speedy financial rise — typically referred to as the “Miracle of the Han River” — wouldn’t have been doable with out the Center East’s assist via large-scale power and infrastructure tasks.
“It’s now our flip to contribute to the ‘Miracle of the Nile,'” he stated.
As well as, he referred to as for increasing people-to-people exchanges via schooling and human-network constructing. To that finish, he stated Seoul will improve assist for bringing extra Egyptian college students to South Korea and coaching Center Japanese professionals.
“The scope of cultural exchanges will likely be expanded,” Lee stated, suggesting exchanges between the just lately opened Grand Egyptian Museum and the Nationwide Museum of Korea.
The regional initiative displays the Lee administration’s push for pragmatic diplomacy, aimed toward strengthening multilateral engagement and diversifying export markets amid rising protectionism and shifting geopolitical dynamics.
His go to to Egypt is the second leg of a four-nation tour of the Center East and Africa, following his cease within the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The journey will even take him to South Africa for the Group of 20 summit and to Turkey.
