PM Modi Set to Visit Egypt Next Week

New Delhi: Plans are afoot for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Egypt next week, his first visit to the Arab world in 2020, aiming to expand strategic ties with a partner that has stood by India in times of crisis in recent years.

Modi is expected to visit Cairo on March 14-15 following the India-EU Summit in Brussels, ET has learnt. This visit will also mark India’s commitment to Africa ahead of the fourth edition of India-Africa Summit in India later this year.

Egypt, a key voice in the Arab world for decades, has de-hyphenated its ties with India and Pakistan. While Manmohan Singh was the last Indian PM to visit Egypt in 2009, every Egyptian President has visited India since 2008 as anti-terrorism cooperation and deradicalisation partnership gathered steam. India and Egypt had signed a security agreement related to sharing information on and combining forces against terrorism.

India and Egypt are also expanding naval cooperation and have explored possibilities of joint production of defence equipment. India and Egypt would also intensify training interactions between their militaries.

Ahead of the PM’s proposed visit, the eighth edition of India by the Nile festival is being held from March 2-10. It will showcase multidisciplinary performances, including puppet theatre, classical and contemporary music, visual arts, food, yoga and dance across Cairo, Alexandria and Port Said. Considered the largest foreign festival in Egypt, it has presented renowned artistes such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shubha Mudgal and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.

The India-Egypt Bilateral Trade Agreement, which has been in operation since March 1978, is based on the ‘most favoured nation’ clause and the bilateral trade has increased more than five times in the past ten years.

Source: ET

Image Courtesy: Swarajya