India, Egypt agree to elevate bilateral relations, boost trade

NEW DELHI (AA) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi discussed bilateral relations on Wednesday and agreed to boost trade.

Addressing a press conference after a meeting in the capital New Delhi, Modi said they have decided to take the bilateral trade between India and Egypt to $12 billion in the next 5 years.

The prime minister said they have decided to elevate bilateral relations with Egypt to a strategic partnership.

“We’ve decided that under India-Egypt Strategic Partnership we will develop a long-term framework for greater cooperation in the fields of politics, security, economics, and science,” he said.

Modi also stated that India and Egypt agreed that strong actions must be taken to control “cross-border terrorism.”

“We’ll also cooperate to check misuse of cyberspace that helps in spreading extremism and radicalization. We also held discussions on the supply chain that was disrupted due to COVID-19 and the Ukraine crisis,” said Modi.

President El-Sisi said: “I have invited Prime Minister Modi to Cairo to take our relationship forward.”

Sisi is the first Egyptian president to have been invited as the chief guest for the Indian Republic Day celebrations.

India and Egypt are celebrating 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations this year. Egypt has also been invited as a “Guest Country” during India’s presidency of G-20 in 2022-23.

Bilateral trade between India and Egypt reached $7.26 billion in 2021-22. The trade was fairly balanced with $3.74 billion in Indian exports to Egypt and $3.52 billion in imports from Egypt to India.