New Delhi – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi revealed plans to increase collaboration in military and security, counterterrorism, and trade on Wednesday, boosting their relationship to that of a strategic partnership.
Sisi will be the first Egyptian head of state to attend India’s Republic Day on January 26 while on a three-day visit there. In order to revitalize bilateral ties, he held in-depth discussions with Modi, with security and economic cooperation emerging as essential cornerstones.
In a joint press conference with Sisi, Modi stated that the two leaders agreed that taking meaningful action is necessary to put an end to cross-border terrorism since they both view it as the most severe security challenge facing humanity. He stated that information and intelligence sharing on terrorism will be a part of bilateral collaboration.
Sisi also stated that Egypt is interested in collaborating with India on defense and counterterrorism. He claimed that the state of the world economy and its effects on poor nations had come up during the negotiations. In order to increase tourism, Sisi has asked for more flights between the two nations.
Five agreements for collaboration in IT, cyber-security, cultural, youth issues, and broadcasting were signed by the two nations.
In terms of trade, Modi stated that the two parties had agreed to increase their annual bilateral trade to $12 billion over the following five years.
Modi said, “We have decided that under the India-Egypt strategic partnership, we will develop a long-term framework for comprehensive cooperation in political, security, economic and scientific fields”.
He continued, “The two sides also decided to increase collaboration between the Egyptian and Indian defense industry”.
Sisi said, “We discussed regional and global issues of mutual interests…We also deliberated on bilateral defence cooperation”.
Sisi agreed with Modi’s stance on terrorism and emphasized the need for international cooperation in combating the issue. “We have similar views on dealing with terrorism and extremism”, Sisi said.
The 68-year-old former general turned politician previously traveled to India in October 2015 to take part in the third summit of the India-Africa Forum.
The Egyptian President’s invitation to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations as the primary guest is a first. The Republic Day parade will also feature a military contingent from the Egyptian Army.
After concentrating on other players in West Asia in recent years, India is eager to rekindle its relationship with Egypt. Both nations were founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement and have had a close relationship since the 1950s. In order to access markets in Africa and Europe, India is also considering using Egypt as a hub.
