Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh said that his visit took India-Egypt ties to a Strategic Partnership and opened a new chapter in bilateral ties.
As India celebrates its 74th Republic Day on Thursday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is all set to attend the parade as the chief guest. It is for the first time that an Egyptian leader has been invited on India's Republic Day.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who will be the chief guest at the Republic Day Parade, held discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday and the two countries decided to take bilateral trade to 12 billion dollars in the next five years
Taking to Twitter PM Modi said, "President @AlsisiOfficial and I discussed ways to augment cooperation in healthcare, environment and global supply chains. We also talked about issues pertaining to security and the need to end cross-border terrorism."
"Both leaders strongly condemned the use of terrorism by the country as a foreign policy instrument and called for zero tolerance of terrorism. And for all those who encourage, support and finance terrorism provides sanctuary to the terror group, whatever their motivation may be," Indian
India and Egypt are "emerging as ideal strategic and economic partners" with cooperation in various sectors, including defence and industrialisation, according to an Egyptian analyst.
"This is for the first time that President of the Arab Republic of Egypt has been invited as Chief Guest on our Republic Day," the MEA said. A military contingent from Egyptian Army will also participate in the Republic Day parade.
As India has assumed the chair of the G-20, the invitation to a leader of an important country in Africa signifies India's role as the voice of the south and an interlocutor between the global South with the North.
"We for the first time ever will hold joint military exercises with special forces participating together from Egypt and India in Udaipur, Jaipur and Jodhpur. And we are expanding our defence cooperation not only to joint exercises of air forces and naval but also in special forces," Hame
Egypt is a 'valued partner' for India as it plays a 'pivotal role' in maintaining peace and stability in the Arab world and Africa, a top official in the Ministry of External Affairs said.