Egypt, India bolster ties as Modi makes trip to Cairo

CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday signed a joint declaration, upgrading the bilateral relations to a strategic partnership, the Egyptian presidency announced.

The upgrade of the ties between Egypt and India mirrors their joint civilization heritage and willingness to promote the relationship, said Ahmed Fahmy, spokesman of the presidency.

During their meeting, Sisi and Modi discussed ways to promote cooperation in the fields of communication, information technology, pharmaceutical industries, higher education, new and renewable energy, tourism, and culture.

The two sides also talked about expanding trade and boosting Indian investment in Egypt, said Fahmy.

The two-day visit is Modi's first trip to Egypt as India's prime minister, who also invited Sisi to attend the G20 meetings scheduled to take place in New Delhi in September.

On Saturday, during his meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Modi noted that Egypt and India were fast moving toward the trade target of $12 billion.

Trade exchange between the two nations reached $6 billion last year, a 13.7 percent increase from $5.3 billion in 2021, according to Egypt's statistics bureau.

Earlier this year, both countries agreed to boost trade cooperation. India, the world's most populous country, is one of the top five importers of Egyptian products, including crude oil and liquefied natural gas, salt, cotton, inorganic chemicals and oilseeds. Major Indian exports to Egypt include cotton yarn, coffee, herbs, tobacco, lentils, vehicle parts, ships, boats and electrical machinery.

Further cooperation

Both sides said talks on Sunday covered areas, including trade and investment, renewable energy, information technology and pharmaceuticals.

"Prime Minister (Modi) and President Sisi also discussed further cooperation in G20, highlighting the issues of food and energy insecurity, climate change and the need for Global South to have a concerted voice," a statement from Modi's office said, adding that the talks had also addressed defense and security ties.

India has been weighing a proposal to allow Egypt, which is facing a severe foreign currency shortage and has been struggling to attract foreign investment, to make purchases in rupees and to barter goods such as fertilizer and gas, sources told Reuters earlier this month.

There was no mention of the proposal in statements on Sunday.

India is seen as keen to boost ties with Egypt partly to secure trade through the Suez Canal. It exported $4.11 billion of goods to Egypt in the last fiscal year, while importing goods worth $1.95 billion.

Agencies - Xinhua