The Minister of Education receives the Ambassador of the Republic of South Korea to Cairo
Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, today received Mr. Kim Young-hyun, Ambassador of the Republic of South Korea to Cairo, to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between the two sides in the fields of education and technical education.
At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif expressed his pride in the distinguished relations between Egypt and South Korea, expressing his aspiration to enhance cooperation with the South Korean side in supporting the Ministry's efforts to develop pre-university education through the exchange of expertise, the provision of technical and technological support, and contributing to the promotion of digital transformation in the educational process. He emphasized the Ministry's aspiration to strengthen cooperation during the next phase.
During the meeting, the Minister reviewed the most prominent challenges the Ministry has recently overcome, most notably overcrowding in classrooms, a shortage of teachers, and improving student attendance rates. He emphasized that the Ministry is currently pursuing a new path of fruitful cooperation with several countries, most notably Italy, Germany, and Japan, contributing to the exchange of expertise and enhancing efforts to develop the educational process and technical education system in Egypt.
The Minister expressed the Ministry's aspiration to enhance cooperation with South Korea in curriculum development, as well as to strengthen cooperation in preparing technical cadres trained in accordance with the latest international standards. This is achieved through implementing the Ministry's plan to transform approximately 1,270 technical schools into applied technology schools and dual education schools, as part of the gradual shift towards educational models based on quality and adherence to international standards.
As part of the Ministry's efforts to empower students with digital skills, the Minister emphasized the Ministry's commitment to incorporating programming concepts and ICT skills into the educational process, expanding the use of interactive digital platforms, and integrating artificial intelligence technologies into curricula. This will keep pace with global developments and prepare students to acquire the future skills needed for the labor market.
For his part, Mr. Kim Young-hyun, South Korea's Ambassador to Cairo, emphasized that Egypt is an important partner in the region, emphasizing his country's commitment to supporting digital education development and capacity building projects to meet labor market needs. He praised Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif's efforts in reforming education, adopting policies that support digital transformation, and expanding international partnerships.
The South Korean Ambassador to Cairo also expressed his admiration for the steps taken by the Egyptian government to invest in education and human capital development as fundamental pillars for achieving economic growth. He also praised the significant investment in information and communications technology (ICT) and related sciences, expressing his country's desire to share its expertise and knowledge to enhance joint cooperation with Egypt in this field.
The meeting reviewed several areas of cooperation, most notably the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) initiatives to support digital inclusion and contribute to expanding access to high-quality education by supporting digital infrastructure, developing digital skills for students and teachers, and developing digital education management systems.
The meeting was attended from the Republic of Korea by Mr. Chang Keun-ahn, Second Secretary at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Cairo, and Mr. Lee Myung-shin, Deputy Director of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). From the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, Dr. Amr Basila, Head of the Central Administration for Technical Education Development and Director of the Operations and Management Unit of Applied Technology Schools, and Dr. Hanem Ahmed, Advisor to the Minister for International Cooperation and Agreements, attended.