South Korea, Egypt sign $1.65B defense deal

By Islamuddin Sajid

ANKARA (AA) - South Korea signed earlier this week a $1.65 billion defense deal with Egypt to provide its K9 self-propelled howitzers to Cairo.

The agreement, inked between Hanwha Defense, the South Korean manufacturer, and Egypt's Defense Ministry, includes the production of K9s in Egypt and a technology transfer, Yonhap News Agency quoted the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) as saying.

Egypt will become the eighth country to adopt the K9 system after Turkıye, Poland, India, Norway, Finland, Estonia, and Australia.

"It is an achievement made through a combination of technological cooperation, collaboration in terms of localized production and pan-government support, which goes beyond just the transactional relationship between the two nations," said DAPA chief Kang Eun-ho.

The signing came a month after South Korea's President Moon Jae-in met his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo.

In December 2021, Hanhwa also signed a defense agreement worth $717 million with Australia to provide its army artillery weapons, supply vehicles and radars.