S. Korea, Egypt agree to expand defense exchanges

SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Egypt reached a preliminary agreement
Friday to boost exchanges between the two countries' defense manufacturers,
Seoul's weapons acquisition agency said.
Byun Moo-keun, chief of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA),
and his Egyptian counterpart, Sayed Meshaal, met in Seoul and signed a memorandum
of understanding calling for the sides to hold meetings regularly and explore
ways to meet each other's defense needs, said an official at the DAPA.
"The memorandum of understanding should help both governments understand each
other's defense industry better," the official said, declining to be named.
According to a statement released by DAPA, Egypt spends about US$5 billion in
defense each year as it maintains over 400,000 regular forces.
"The deal should serve as the green light for Korean companies seeking to make
inroads into the Egyptian weapons market," the DAPA statement said.
The countries posted bilateral trade of US$2.8 billion last year but their
defense trade amounted to only US$100 million in the last two years, according to
DAPA.
The meeting between Byun and Meshaal came after Cairo's assistant foreign
minister held a meeting last month with his South Korean counterpart in Seoul and
discussed ways to enhance cooperation in energy, defense and tourism. South Korea
aims to log defense exports of US$3 billion in 2012.
Seoul and Cairo set up diplomatic relations in 1995.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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