Does El Sisi’s visit mark beginning of a new era in India-Egypt ties?
During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli highlighted the positive outcome of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s recent foreign tour that included India, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. The tour reflects the country’s keenness on boosting economic cooperation, he added.
The invitation by India to the Egyptian president as the Chief Guest to the Asian nation’s 74th Republic Day celebrations on 26 January is considered an increasing stimulus to India’s relations with Egypt. It is also the first time that any Egyptian Head of State has been invited to be the Chief Guest at India’s R-Day celebrations.
El Sisi could also visit India again in September for the G20 Summit, for which India, which assumed the presidency last December from Indonesia, has invited it as a guest country.
The personal understanding established between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and El Sisi is expected to offer an additional boost to bilateral ties in the foreseeable future.
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Egypt is an influential country in the Arab world and is strategically located to connect the Mediterranean with the Red Sea through the Suez Canal. Relations between the two countries are age-old and historical. The pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have highlighted the growing strength of India-Egypt relations.
Egypt shipped 300,000 doses of antiviral Remdesivir injection and 30 tons of medical supplies during the destructive second wave of Covid-19 in India. The Asian country, in a reciprocal move, approved the shipment of 61,500 metric tons of wheat to Egypt last May.
Cairo has welcomed the flow of more Indian investments, which is currently over $3.15 billion, as it tries to attract foreign investment in order to manage a severe dollar shortage that has caused a substantial depreciation of the Egyptian pound.
