As Egyptian President El-Sisi visits India, New Delhi and Cairo have decided to take bilateral trade to $12 billion in the next five years…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that India and Egypt have decided to elevate their bilateral relations to the level of a “strategic partnership”.
He further said that both the nations have decided to take bilateral trade to $12 billion in the next five years.
In his remarks after discussions with visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Modi said, “At one side of the Arabian Sea is India and on the other side is Egypt. Strategic cooperation between the two countries will help in promoting peace and prosperity in the entire region. So in today’s meeting, President Sisi and I decided to elevate our bilateral partnership to the level of ‘Strategic Partnership’. We have decided that under the India-Egypt Strategic Partnership, we will develop a long-term framework of greater cooperation in political, security, economic and scientific fields.”
He said that both he and President Sisi closely observed the adverse effects on healthcare infrastructure and global supply chains during the Covid pandemic.
“President Sisi and I have remained in close contact during this challenging period, and both countries have sent each other immediate assistance in times of need. Today, we have held extensive discussions on strengthening the food and pharma supply chains affected by Covid and the Ukraine conflict. We also agreed on the need to increase mutual investment and trade in these areas,” Modi said.
He also said that India and Egypt are worried about the spread of terrorism happening around the world.
“We are unanimous in the opinion that terrorism is the most serious security threat to humanity. Both countries also agree that concerted action is necessary to end cross-border terrorism. And for this, together we will continue to try to alert the international community,” the Prime Minister said.
Modi further elaborated that “there is also immense potential for enhancing security and defence cooperation between us”.
“In the last few years, there has been a significant increase in joint exercise training and capacity building between our armies. We have also decided in today’s meeting to further strengthen cooperation between our defence industries, and enhance the exchange of information and intelligence related to counter-terrorism,” he said.
Modi said that during his meeting with the Egyptian President, the issue of misuse of cyber space to spread extremist ideologies and radicalisation was discussed, and therefore it was decided that both the countries would extend cooperation against this also.
Sisi, who arrived on Tuesday on a three-day official visit to India, would be the chief guest during the Republic Day function on Thursday.
Sisi invites Modi to Cairo
Visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital and decided to elevate their ties to the level of strategic partnership.
Addressing a joint media statement after the talks that focussed on ways to enhance bilateral ties in a range of areas, including agriculture, digital domain, culture and trade, Egyptian President Sisi said that he has invited PM Modi to Cairo to complete the talks to move forward the ties between the two nations.
“I am going to take part in the Republic Day parade. I am thankful to PM Modi for such a grand welcome. During our discussions, we talked about trade and investment and how to further expand our cooperation in import and export,” Egyptian President said.
He further said, “I met PM Modi in 2015 in New York and I had full confidence in him. I knew he will take his nation forward. I have invited Prime Minister Modi to Cairo, Egypt to complete our talks and elevate the ties between the two nations to a strategic partnership.”
Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that he told PM Modi about investment opportunities in Egypt and the government’s measures to promote investment in Cairo.
“I told PM Modi about investment opportunities in Egypt and the Egyptian government’s actions to promote investment. I expressed the desire for India to increase its investment in various sectors in Egypt, especially the Suez Canal Economic Zone,” Sisi said.
The visiting dignitary said, “We have witnessed the willingness of Indian companies working in Egypt to increase their presence in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. Many Indian companies have expressed willingness to invest in promising sectors of Egypt.”
According to the Egyptian President, the two leaders discussed security cooperation between India and Egypt. El-Sisi said that they spoke about terrorism and discussed COP27. He expressed gratitude to PM Modi for inviting Egypt as a guest country for the upcoming G20 summit. He stressed that India and Egypt are “old cultural civilizations.” (ANI)