1. First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam will visit Egypt on March 25-26 and India on March 27-29 to seek stronger substantive cooperation with the major countries in Africa and the Middle East as well as Southwest Asia, regions that are seeing a growth in strategic importance.

2. During his visit to Egypt, Vice Minister Lim will hold a meeting with Special Adviser to the President for National Security Fayza Aboulnaga as well as a meeting and a luncheon with Deputy Foreign Minister Hamdi Sanad Loza. On those occasions, the two sides will discuss ways that the Republic of Korea and Egypt can work more closely together, including to advance their comprehensive cooperative partnership.

3. Vice Minister Lim will then visit India, where he will meet with Secretary (East) Preeti Saran of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and pay a courtesy call on Minister of State for External Affairs V. K. Singh to seek ways to boost the ROK-India special strategic partnership. He will also hold a meeting with Korean entrepreneurs in Mumbai to encourage Korean companies to expand their presence in the country.

4. The Vice Minister’s visits to Egypt and India are expected to serve as a significant opportunity to step up substantive cooperation and enhance the strategic bond with the countries, and thereby broaden the ROK’s diplomatic horizon.

° During his visit to India, the Vice Minister will discuss with Indian officials ways to increase ROK-India economic cooperation across the board, including infrastructure and defense industry, as well as to put into higher gear the bilateral vice-ministerial 2+2 meeting and other mechanisms for strategic consultation.

° The Vice Minister’s visit to Egypt will mark the first by a minister- or vice-minster-level official of the ROK Foreign Ministry since 2006. The forthcoming high-level meeting with Egypt, one of the major countries in Africa and the Middle East as well as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2016-2017 term, is expected to serve as a chance to seek to maintain the momentum of cooperation, including through high-level exchanges; win cooperation from a member of the Security Council with regard to the situation on the Korean Peninsula; and seek stronger support from Egypt on matters of concern of the ROK, including bids of Korean companies to build presence in Egypt.


* unofficial translation