Friday 27 / December / 2024
Cairo : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday concluded his bilateral visit to Egypt where he met eminent personalities in the field of foreign policy.
The External Affairs Minister further noted that common perspectives and shared interests between India and Egypt will surely take the ties of both the countries to next level. In a Tweet, the EAM wrote, "Concluded my first official visit to Egypt. Our common perspectives and shared interests will surely take ties to the next level."
Jaishankar was on a two-day official trip to Egypt for his first bilateral visit from October 15-16.
During the visit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry here on Saturday and said that both of them discussed the Ukraine conflict and Indo-Pacific and also invited Egypt to the G20 summit to be chaired by New Delhi.
The minister also discussed a range of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and also interacted with Indian community-based in Egypt, including students, and address a gathering of the Egyptian and Indian business community.
In an interaction with the Indian community in Cairo, he said, "There was a particular interest in Egypt about getting one of our IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) to set up a collaborative enterprise here. I will discuss this with our Education Minister in India."
Addressing the India-Egypt Business Forum on Sunday, Jaishankar said, "Well-reputed Indian companies are coming out to a destination like Egypt, assessing the possibilities here favourably. I think this says a lot about our companies and your credibility as an investment destination. I see a world of possibilities here."
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi urged India to increase the turnover of trade and also said that the current revenue was not enough.
Jaishankar also recalled Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's visit to Egypt and said that recently India and Egypt have also stepped up defence and security cooperation and said that the Indian Air Force with the Egyptian Air Force had important exercises and had regular ship visits to Egypt.
He also highlighted India's commitment to the success of COP27 under the Egyptian presidency.
Jaishankar on Saturday also said that he will talk to the Union Minister for Education, Skill and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan about collaborating with Egypt on premier higher educational institutes, like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
Both countries are celebrating 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations this year. Egypt has been invited as a 'Guest Country' during India's Presidency of G-20 in 2022-23.
Egypt has been one of India's largest trading partners in Africa and the promotion of bilateral trade, commerce and investments will be one of the focus areas during the visit. India - Egypt bilateral trade touched a record high at USD 7.26 billion during FY 2021-22.
Indian investment in Egypt exceeds USD 3.15 billion. Over 50 Indian companies are actively present in Egypt in a range of sectors like manufacturing, chemicals, energy, infrastructure, retail etc. (
