After the US, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Cairo from June 24-25. The trip comes at a time when Egypt is keen to join BRICS and reduce its dependence on the West.
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| Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations in January 2023. (Source: PTI) |
Next week is going to be a busy one for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will travel to the US on June 20 to hold talks with President Joe Biden and sign important agreements.
The Indian leader will then make his first official visit to Egypt. According to a statement issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on June 17, he is expected to hold bilateral meetings with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and senior officials, interact with prominent Egyptian figures and meet the Indian community there.
Valuable addition
The announcement of the Indian prime minister’s visit comes shortly after Egypt formally applied to join the BRICS group of leading emerging economies. The North African nation also plans to abandon the US dollar in its dealings with BRICS nations, a move that promises greater economic cooperation.
| BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) is one of the most important economic groups in the world, accounting for about 30% of the global economy, 26% of the world's land area and 43% of the world's population, as well as producing more than one-third of global grain output. |
Egypt's willingness to reduce its dependence on the US dollar fits with the BRICS vision of promoting alternative currencies in international trade.
As Cairo seeks to forge closer ties with emerging economies, Prime Minister Modi’s visit is significant. The two sides are expected to discuss defense cooperation, education and Egypt’s bid to join BRICS.
Egypt is expected to experience rapid economic growth, with abundant natural resources and strategic control of the Suez Canal, making its addition to the bloc valuable, according to an article in the Financial Express.
“Increased trade and investment between Egypt and BRICS countries could contribute to economic development and promote greater cooperation within the group… Moreover, Egypt’s application to join BRICS could influence the perception of other countries in the Middle East and Africa towards the bloc,” the article stated.
Create new momentum
While Prime Minister Modi has just started his trip to Egypt, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has already visited the country of the Ganges three times since taking office in June 2014.
These included attending the Third India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi in October 2015, a bilateral visit in 2016 and most recently as the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations in January 2023.
Prime Minister Modi has made efforts to build stronger ties with Egypt, even inviting Mr. El-Sisi as a special guest at the G20 Summit that the country will host in September.
In January, India and Egypt decided to elevate their bilateral relations to the level of a strategic partnership. According to Indian Deputy Foreign Minister Vinay Kwatra, the partnership has four components: political, defense and security; economic; scientific and academic; and cultural and people-to-people exchanges. |
The decision to invite President El-Sisi to India is part of New Delhi's ongoing efforts to strengthen ties with Cairo.
According to FirstPost , India wants to increase its influence in the Global South, which includes countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Egypt is an important part of it.
Ahead of President Sisi’s visit six months ago, former Indian Ambassador to Egypt Navdeep Suri told DD India that the relationship between the two countries had not lived up to its potential in recent times. New Delhi is now trying to give “new momentum” to its relationship with a country “with a geopolitically important position between Asia and Africa.”
In fact, ties between India and Egypt have strengthened under Prime Minister Modi. Last year, both External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Cairo.
The two countries are exploring opportunities in the fields of new and renewable energy, trade and investment, education, tourism and connectivity. Egypt is keen to establish an educational institution like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) on its soil.
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| Egypt interested in India's Tejas light fighter aircraft. (Source: AFP) |
The focus of Defence Minister Singh’s visit in September 2022 was to expand bilateral defence agreements. Egypt has shown interest in several Indian-made technologies such as the Tejas light combat aircraft, the Akash missile system and the Smart Air Defence Weapon (SAAW) developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Amid a wheat shortage caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and restrictions on grain exports in India last year, the Modi government made an exception for Egypt.
Bilateral trade between the two countries increased rapidly in 2021-22, reaching $7.26 billion, up 75% from 2020-21. More than 50 Indian companies invested about $3.15 billion in sectors such as chemicals, energy, textiles, agribusiness, retail, etc.
According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi and Cairo enjoy warm and friendly relations, marked by civilisational, cultural and economic links as well as deep people-to-people ties. This year, the two countries celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations (1948-2023).
In that context, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first presence in Cairo since taking office in 2014 is expected to increase the strategic content in bilateral relations.
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