Egypt and India upgraded their bilateral ties to a strategic partnership as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up his first go to to the north African nation late Sunday.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi bestowed Modi with Egypt’s highest honor as the 2 international locations tightened their partnership.
El-Sissi welcomed Modi on the presidential palace in Cairo with the Order of the Nile, the Egyptian presidency stated in a press release. The leaders signed a declaration elevating Egyptian-Indo ties to a “strategic partnership,” which implies the 2 nations agreed to accentuate their cooperation and maintain periodic talks, the assertion stated.
Egypt and India share deep ties that date again to the Nineteen Fifties after they performed key roles in founding the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which sought another path on the peak of the Cold War.
Modi, who arrived in Cairo on Saturday, is the primary Indian prime minister to pay a state go to to Egypt in additional than twenty years. His two-day cease got here six months after el-Sissi was in New Delhi as an official visitor at India’s Republic Day parade.
Modi additionally invited the Egyptian chief to attend a summit of the Group of 20 (G-20) main wealthy and growing international locations, which India will host in September.
Following his talks with el-Sissi, Modi visited the famed Pyramids of Giza and a historic mosque, Cairo’s Al-Hakim, which was not too long ago renovated with the assistance of the India-based Dawoodi Bohra neighborhood. He additionally paid tribute to Indian troopers who died in World War I and are buried within the Heliopolis War Cemetery in Cairo.
Modi’s journey to Egypt has centered on strengthening bilateral ties. The prime minister stated each international locations have been shifting swiftly to extend bilateral commerce to $12 billion yearly inside 5 years.
Trade alternate between the 2 nations reached $6 billion final yr, a 13.7% improve from $5.3 billion in 2021, in line with Egypt’s statistics bureau.
The two governments additionally signed agreements within the fields of agriculture, archaeology, antiquities and competitors legislation, stated Arindam Bagchi, a spokesman for India’s External Affairs Ministry.
“My visit to Egypt was a historic one. It will add renewed vigor to India-Egypt relations and will benefit the people of our nations,” Modi wrote on Twitter earlier than departing for New Delhi.
Earlier this yr, each international locations agreed to spice up commerce cooperation. India, the world’s most populous nation, is likely one of the prime 5 importers of Egyptian merchandise, together with crude oil and liquefied pure gasoline, salt, cotton, inorganic chemical substances and oilseeds. Major Indian exports to Egypt embody cotton yarn, espresso, herbs, tobacco, lentils, automobile components, ships, boats and electrical equipment.
El-Sissi and Modi have lately cultivated a better relationship. Over the final 16 months, they’ve resisted stress from the West to sentence the Russian struggle in Ukraine. Both Egypt and India have decades-old ties with the Kremlin.
“There is a change in the global geopolitical and geoeconomic atmosphere wherein both countries wish to play a defining role,” India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh stated throughout a go to to Cairo in September.
“Egypt’s geostrategic location acts as a connecting link between Africa, West Asia, the Mediterranean, and Europe and is also an important country from the Indo-Pacific point of view,” he added.
Modi arrived from the United States, the place he held talks with President Joe Biden and prime administration officers, addressed Congress and met with prime American executives.
His assembly with el-Sissi got here as international consideration centered on a quick rise up by the pinnacle of the Wagner Group, seen as the best problem to the management in Moscow. Neither chief commented on the Russian disaster.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
