- Friday, February 28, 2025
A statement from the Indian prime minister’s office later said that Modi and El-Sisi discussed further cooperation in G20 and highlighted the issues of food and energy security, climate change and the need for Global South to have a ‘concerted voice’.
By: Shubham Ghosh
EGYPT and India spoke over strengthening ties in various areas, including trade, food security and defence during prime minister Narendra Modi’s two-day state visit to the North African nation that concluded on Sunday (25), Cairo and New Delhi said the same day.
On the first day of his visit to Egypt from the US where he went on a state visit as well, Modi met Egyptian president Abdel Fatah el-El-Sisi and ministers appointed to an India Unit following a state visit by Sisi to India earlier this year when a “strategic partnership” between the two nations was announced.
On Sunday, Egypt and India signed an agreement to elevate their bilateral relationship to a “strategic partnership”.
As the two sides spoke during the latest visit by Modi, areas such as trade and investment, renewable energy, information technology and pharmaceuticals were included.
A statement from the Indian prime minister’s office later said that Modi and El-Sisi discussed further cooperation in G20 and highlighted the issues of food and energy security, climate change and the need for Global South to have a “concerted voice”.
New Delhi has also been considering a proposal to allow Cairo, which is facing a serious foreign currency shortage and struggling to attract foreign investment, to make purchases in Indian rupee and to barter goods such as fertiliser and eggs, Reuters reported citing sources that spoke to it in early June.
There was, however, no mention of the proposal in statements on Sunday.
India is seen as a country which is keen to boost ties with Egypt, partly to secure trade through the strategic Suez Canal. Last year, it exported goods worth $4.11 billion to Egypt while imported those worth $1.95 billion.
During his visit, Modi was conferred the Order of the Nile, Egypt’s highest civilian award, by El-Sisi.
