India, Egypt declare ‘strategic partnership’

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• India-Egypt Bilateral Relations
• Political Relations between India and Egypt
• Economic Relations between India and Egypt
• Development cooperation between India and Egypt
• Defence Relations between India and Egypt
• Cultural relation between India and Egypt
• Indian Community at Egypt
• News Summary: Outcomes of the State visit of President of Egypt to India

 

Why in news?

• President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, is on a State Visit to India from 24-27 January 2023.
• President Sisi, who is on his second State Visit to India, was also the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day on 26 January 2023.
• During this visit, President Sisi and PM Modi held bilateral talks.

 

India-Egypt Bilateral Relations

• India and Egypt, two of the world’s oldest civilizations, have enjoyed a history of close contact from ancient times. 
  • Ashoka’s edicts refer to his relations with Egypt under Ptolemy-II.
• Close friendship between President Nasser and PM Nehru led to a Friendship Treaty between the two countries in 1955.

 

Political Relations between India and Egypt

• Both countries have cooperated closely in multilateral fora and were the founding members of Non-Aligned Movement. 
• The year 2022 is of particular significance since it marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relation between India and Egypt.
• Egypt has been invited as a Guest Country during India’s Presidency of G-20.

 

Economic Relations between India and Egypt

• Bilateral trade has expanded rapidly in 2021-22, amounting to 7.26 billion registering a 75% increase compared to FY 2020-21.
  • India’s exports to Egypt during this period amounted to US$ 3.74 billion and Egypt’s exports to India reached US$ 3.52 billion.
  • In FY 2021-22, the top Indian imports from Egypt were Mineral Oil/Petroleum, Fertilizers, Inorganic Chemicals and Cotton.
  • Main items of export to Egypt from India were Buffalo Meat, Iron & Steel, Engineering Products, Light Vehicles and Cotton Yarn.
• India was the 6^th most important trading partner for Egypt in FY2021-22.
• Around 50 Indian companies have invested in various sectors in Egypt with a combined investment exceeding US$ 3.15 billion.
  • Egyptian investments in India are to the tune of US$ 37 million.
• Wheat export from India
  • Russia-Ukraine conflict has threatened Egypt with a shortage for wheat, 80% of which is imported from Russia and Ukraine.
  • In April 2022, Egypt announced inclusion of India in the list of accredited countries which can supply wheat to Egypt, thus ending a long pending Non-Tariff Barrier.
  • In May 2022, India — which had put a ban on export of wheat — allowed export of 61,000 tonnes to Egypt.

 

Development cooperation between India and Egypt

• The grants-in-aid projects include: 
  • Pan Africa Tele-medicine and Tele-education project in Alexandria University, Solar electrification project in Agaween village and Vocational Training Centre for textile technology in Shoubra, Cairo, which have been completed.
• Technical cooperation and assistance
  • Since 2000, over 1300 Egyptian officials have benefited from ITEC and other programs like ICCR and IAFS scholarships.

 

Defence Relations between India and Egypt

• Exercises
  • The first ever IAF-EAF Joint Tactical Air Exercise, Dessert Warrior, was held in Egypt in October 2021.
  • For the first time, Indian Air Force participated in Tactical Leadership Programme of Egyptian Air Force Weapons School in 2022. 
  • Cyclone Exercise between two countries is being held 14-27 Jan 2023 in India.
• Transits:
  • Indian Navy Ships undertake port calls at Egyptian ports.
  • Egypt regularly provides transit facilities to IAF and IN aircraft ferrying to/ from Russia, Europe and the USA.

 

Cultural relation between India and Egypt

• The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC) has been promoting cultural cooperation between the two countries.
• The iconic Cairo Tower (which is the tallest tower in North Africa) was illuminated with Indian National Flag in the evening of 15th August 2021.

 

Indian Community at 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.
• About 400 Indian students are studying in Egypt, mainly in Al Azhar University.

 

News Summary: Outcomes of the State visit of President of Egypt to India

 

Relationship upgraded to Strategic Partnership

• Both sides decided to elevate the relationship to Strategic Partnership covering political, security, defence, energy and economic areas.

 

75 years of establishment of India-Egypt relationship

• Both sides exchanged the Commemorative Postal Stamps to mark 75 years of establishment of India-Egypt relationship.

 

MoUs signed

• MoU in the area of Cyber Security
• MoU in the fields of Information Technology between India and Egypt
• MoU on Cooperation in Youth Matters between India and Egypt
• MoU in the field of Culture between India and Egypt

 

The issue of terrorism

• Both countries agreed that concerted action is necessary to end cross-border terrorism. 
• And for this, they decided that together both the countries will continue to try to alert the international community.
• They condemned the use of terrorism as a foreign policy tool and called for zero tolerance towards terrorism.

 

Bilateral trade

• Both sides have decided to take the bilateral trade to 12 billion dollars in the next five years.

 

Proposal to create permanent channels

• Egyptian President requested PM Modi to create permanent channels to enhance digital connections between small and medium scale industries.
• This will help in improving life of common people.

 

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Q1) What is Suez Canal?

The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. The canal is operated and maintained by the state-owned Suez Canal Authority (SCA) of Egypt.

 

Q2) What are some of the deserts in Africa?

 Africa – the second largest continent in the world is also home to the largest desert in the world – the Sahara. Other deserts include Kalahari Desert, Karoo Desert, Danakil Desert, Chalbi Desert, Namib Desert, and Guban Desert.

 

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Source: India, Egypt elevate ties to strategic partnership, say terror is most serious security threat to humanity | Ministry of External Affairs | Embassy of India in Cairo