KOICA, Egypt’s Environment Min. celebrate completion of 3-year GIS capacity building program

CAIRO - 2 October 2025: The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), South Korea’s official development assistance body, in partnership with Egypt’s Ministry of Environment, hosted an online knowledge-sharing seminar marking the conclusion of a three-year capacity building program on Geographic Information System (GIS) for Environmental Planning and Management.

The program, implemented between 2023 and 2025 under KOICA’s flagship Capacity Improvement & Advancement for Tomorrow (CIAT) fellowship, trained ministry officials with the goal of enhancing Egypt’s environmental planning processes through the adoption of advanced GIS technologies.

The closing seminar brought together senior officials from the Ministry of Environment, alongside KOICA partners such as Beni Suef Technological University (BTU) and the General Authority for Export and Import Control (GOEIC). Alumni from the three training batches presented their achievements and shared practical experiences, while a CIAT Master’s alumna offered an in-depth account of her academic and cultural journey in Korea.

Participants from the Ministry highlighted how the skills they acquired in Korea have translated into tangible improvements in public services. They noted that the program not only deepened their technical expertise in GIS but also provided them with valuable exposure to Korean culture, technology, and governance models.

One alumna of the CIAT Master’s scholarship program described her study experience in Korea as “transformative,” emphasizing how it broadened her leadership capacity, sharpened her professional vision, and instilled values of collaboration and perseverance that she believes can contribute to Egypt’s development.

Since 1998, KOICA Egypt has been actively investing in human resource development through its CIAT fellowship program. To date, 1,838 Egyptian alumni have benefited from its training, while 132 participants have pursued Master’s and Doctoral degrees under KOICA’s scholarship schemes. In 2025 alone, 45 officials from four key Egyptian institutions, including the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Interior, and the National Council for Women, received training, with six participants selected for advanced scholarships abroad.

Through such programs, KOICA continues to reinforce Egypt’s institutional capacities, supporting sustainable development and strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries.