ICCK

South Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam will visit Egypt and India over the next week to discuss strategic cooperation with the "increasingly important" countries, the foreign ministry here said Friday.

Lim will begin his two-day visit to Egypt on Saturday to hold talks with his Egyptian counterpart Hamdi Sanad Loza as well as national security adviser Fayza Aboulnaga, said the ministry.

The meetings will focus on ways to upgrade bilateral economic cooperation by facilitating South Korean firms' entry into the Egyptian market, it said.

The South Korean side will also seek Egypt's cooperation on security issues involving the Korean Peninsula as the country is currently a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Lim's visit will mark the first official trip to Egypt by a ranking South Korean diplomat in 11 years since former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon traveled there in 2006 as a foreign minister.

In India, Lim will meet with his counterpart Preeti Saran as well as Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh during his three-day stay.

At the meetings, the officials will discuss ways to reinforce their strategic partnership and to help South Korean companies make inroads into the Indian market, the ministry noted. 

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