Cairo: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday called on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi here and handed over a personal message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Jaishankar is here on his maiden official visit at the invitation of his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. "Honoured to call on President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi and handed over a personal message," Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting.
During an interaction with the Indian community here on Saturday, Jaishankar had said that Prime Minister Modi has a very good personal relationship with President Sisi. "I know that he has been wanting to visit (Egypt) for some time. It is one of those situations, partly Covid, that has disrupted the travel schedule. But I can assure you it's very much on his mind, Jaishankar had said in response to a question.
The last prime ministerial visit from India to Egypt took place in 2009 when Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Cairo for the Non-Aligned Summit, according to the Indian Embassy website. During the meeting with President Sisi on Sunday, Jaishankar "deeply appreciated" his guidance in further developing various dimensions of Egypt-India relationship and briefed him on his discussions with Foreign Minister Shoukry.
"As independent-minded nations, India and Egypt contribute to global discourse. And promote the cause of peace, progress and development, Jaishankar tweeted. He said India values the participation of Egypt in the G20 during its chair ship. "We are fully committed to the success of COP27 under the Egyptian presidency, he said.
On Saturday, Jaishankar met his Egyptian counterpart Shoukry and discussed a range of issues including the Ukraine conflict and the Indo-Pacific and exchanged views on boosting bilateral ties and how to create a more resilient global economy. Jaishankar said India and Egypt's cooperation in multilateral forums remains robust and welcomed Egyptian participation in G20 next year and in BRICS New Development Bank and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
India and Egypt share close political understanding based on a long history of contact and cooperation in bilateral, regional and global issues. Last month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh travelled to Egypt where he met President Sisi and discussed bilateral military-to-military cooperation, with the latter emphasising that there is a need for both countries to exchange expertise and best practices in countering the threat of terrorism.
During Singh's visit, India and Egypt signed an MoU to further boost bilateral defence cooperation and reached a consensus on enhancing joint exercises. Egypt has traditionally been one of India's most important trading partners in the African continent. Bilateral trade has expanded rapidly in 2021-22, amounting to 7.26 billion registering a 75 per cent increase compared to FY 2020-21, according to the Indian embassy in Egypt. At present, the Indian community in Egypt numbers at around 3200, most of whom are concentrated in Cairo. There are also a small number of families in Alexandria, Port Said and Ismailia. (PTI)
