Egypt, India seek ‘strategic partnership’ with Modi visit
India and Egypt pledged to boost trade and diplomatic ties during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first trip to the North African country.
On Sunday, Modi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi “signed a joint declaration to elevate relations to a strategic partnership”, which they first announced in January when el-Sissi visited New Delhi, a spokesman for the Egyptian leader. The two nations pledged to intensify their cooperation and hold periodic talks, according to an official statement.
“My visit to Egypt was historic,” Modi later said on Twitter.
“It will add renewed vigor to India-Egypt relations and benefit the people of our nations.”
Modi wants $12 billion in annual trade
India is already Egypt’s seventh-largest trading partner, with trade surpassing $7 billion (€6.4 billion) last year, according to Cairo central bank data.
Modi said he hopes to increase that figure to $12 billion annually.
Prior to the visit, Egypt offered a potential “dedicated land area” for Indian industries in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, which could be used as the site for a $12 billion green hydrogen plant built by Indian company ACME.
The two leaders also discussed food and energy insecurity “and the need for the Global South to have a concerted voice”, Modi’s office said on Sunday.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent grain prices soaring globally in 2022, India banned wheat exports to protect its reserves but granted an exception to Egypt, the world’s biggest wheat importer.
Modi visits Cairo mosque
Modi’s visit to India also gained cultural significance when he visited the 11th-century Al-Hakim Mosque – a rare engagement for the Hindu nationalist prime minister.
The mosque was renovated by the Muslim Dawoodi Bohra community, which originated in Modi’s home state of Gujarat.
Meanwhile, el-Sissi bestowed Egypt’s highest honor, the Order of the Nile, on the Indian leader.
Modi is the first Indian prime minister to pay a state visit to Egypt in over two decades. His trip comes after a four-day visit to the United States, where he met with President Joe Biden.
zc/dj (AP, AFP, Reuters)
Source: DW
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