Staff Writer
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on Sunday bestowed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Egypt’s highest honor as the two countries tightened their partnership.
El-Sissi welcomed Modi at the presidential palace in Cairo with the Order of the Nile, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. The leaders signed a declaration elevating Egyptian-Indo ties to a “strategic partnership,” which means the two nations agreed to intensify their cooperation and hold periodic talks, the statement said.
Egypt and India share deep ties that date back to the 1950s, when they played key roles in founding the Non-Aligned Movement, which had sought an alternative path at the height of the Cold War.
Modi, who arrived in Cairo on Saturday, is the first Indian prime minister to pay a state visit to Egypt in more than two decades. His two-day stop came six months after el-Sissi was in New Delhi as an official guest at India’s Independence Day.
In addition, Modi extended an invitation to the Egyptian president to attend the G-20 conference, which India will host in September.
After his discussions with el-Sissi, Modi went to Cairo’s Al-Hakim, an ancient mosque that had recently undergone renovations thanks to the Dawoodi Bohra community in India. He also paid respect to Indian soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and were laid to rest in Cairo’s Heliopolis War Cemetery.
The goal of Modi’s visit to Egypt has been to develop bilateral ties. The prime minister claimed that both nations have been pushing quickly to boost bilateral trade from $7.3 billion in 2021–2022 to $12 billion yearly within five years.
“My trip to Egypt was historically significant. The people of our two countries would gain, and it will revitalize India-Egypt relations, Modi remarked on Twitter.
Both nations decided to increase their commercial cooperation earlier this year. India, the most populated nation on earth, is among the top five importers of Egyptian goods, including salt, cotton, inorganic chemicals, oilseeds, liquefied natural gas, crude oil, and cotton. Cotton yarn, coffee, herbs, tobacco, lentils, ship components, boats, and electrical machinery are among India’s top exports to Egypt.
El-Sissi and Modi, who took office in their respective nations in 2014, have grown closer in recent years. Additionally, they have resisted Western pressure to denounce the Russian war in Ukraine over the past 16 months.
During a visit to Cairo in September, India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh stated, “There is a change in the global geopolitical and geoeconomic atmosphere wherein both countries wish to play a defining role.” “Egypt’s geostrategic location acts as a connecting link between Africa, West Asia, the Mediterranean, and Europe. It is also an important country from an Indo-Pacific point of view.”
Modi arrived from the US, where he spoke with President Joe Biden and other government figures, spoke before Congress, and met with leading American business leaders.
His encounter with el-Sissi took place at a time when the world’s attention was on a brief uprising by the leader of the Wagner Group, which was viewed as Vladimir Putin’s greatest challenge in more than two decades in office.
