New Delhi. India and Egypt September 2 signed an Agreement on Maritime Transport during the state visit of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi to New Delhi.
The ongoing three-day visit is his second visit to India in two years, indicating the strong intent among the leadership of both countries to strengthen the bilateral relationship. The 61-year old President of Egypt also visited India in October 2015 to take part in the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS).
The Agreement will help both countries to encourage and facilitate development of their maritime trade and ties, and cooperate in enhancing and stimulating the steady growth of maritime traffic between them.
It will also accelerate and facilitate the flow of commercial goods at sea and at ports, and help set up joint ventures in maritime transportation, shipbuilding and repairs, maritime training, information technology including development of simulators, port facilities and related maritime activities.
The signing of the Agreement on Maritime Transport between India and Egypt “will further intensify bilateral cooperation by facilitating not only maritime commerce but also transit of naval vessels,” a joint statement issued after the delegation-level talks on September 2 said.
“Stepping up co-operation on the seas,” tweeted Vikas Swarup, spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs after the delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visiting Egyptian President.
Enhancing security and anti-terrorism collaboration was another key item on the agenda for discussions, as one of the “three pillars” to strengthen ties; closer political and security cooperation, deeper economic engagement, and scientific collaboration and wider cultural and people-to-people contacts.
Speaking at a media interaction after the talks, Prime Minister Modi said, “President and I are of one view that growing radicalisation, increasing violence and spread of terror pose a real threat not just to our two countries but, also to nations and communities across regions. Egypt itself is a natural bridge that connects Asia with Africa. Your people are a voice of moderate Islam, and your nation a factor for regional peace and stability in Africa and the Arab world,” Mr Modi said.
Both leaders expressed their satisfaction at “recent exchanges on security cooperation and counter-terrorism at the level of National Security Advisers,” while welcoming “the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation between the two National Security Councils,” a joint statement said.
The two countries have launched a Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism, which met in January 2016 to step up joint efforts in combating terrorism.
On defence exchanges, “the two leaders expressed satisfaction that defence cooperation is taking place through regular exchanges. They welcomed the recent meeting of Joint Defence Committee and the visit of Egyptian delegation to DefExpo 2016 as steps towards further deepening and expansion of defence relations through high level visits, training, exercises, transit facilities, and hardware cooperation,” the joint statement said.
They also “exchanged views on a number of issues of bilateral and international interest including the latest developments in West Asia and North Africa region, the spread of extremism and radicalisation and the scourge of terrorism. They also discussed the need for reform of the United Nations,” the statement added.
Seeking an early end to the hostilities in Syria, Libya and Iraq, “the two leaders affirmed the need to achieve a comprehensive and permanent solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict on the basis of the UN Security Council resolutions, the relevant UN resolutions, Madrid Peace Conference of 1991 and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative in Beirut, in implementation of the two-state principle on the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestine State with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in peace side by side with the State of Israel within secure and recognised borders,” the joint statement added.
Increasing the volume of economic engagement was another priority. “They agreed to encourage companies and corporations from their respective countries to explore emerging economic and investment opportunities in each other’s countries. Prime Minister Modi welcomed Egyptian investments in India under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, in the manufacturing and services sectors. President Al-Sisi invited Indian participation in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, particularly in sectors such as petro-chemicals, energy, agriculture, healthcare, education, skills and IT,” the joint statement said.
According to Egypt’s Ambassador to India Hatem Tag El-Din, the volume of trade between Egypt and India is $4 billion; exports from India to Egypt include petrochemicals, meat, rice, textiles, spices and car tyres, while imports from Egypt include gas, oil, raw materials used to manufacture fertilisers, cotton, tanned leather, marble, and a number of agricultural crops like oranges and onions. He also said Indian investment in Egypt was around US$ 3 billion. The number of Indian companies now in Egypt is 52.
“President Sisi’s visit is a landmark and it will give further momentum to the already strong partnership between the two countries,” said Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Indian Ambassador to Egypt.
“The bilateral relations between the two countries have three pillars, which are political, economic and cultural exchanges,” Bhattacharyya said.
“There are also new Indian investments in Egypt as we seek to expand our economic engagement. We recently inaugurated a vocational training centre here and we are looking forward to start our next development project which is a centre of excellence in information technology at Al-Azhar University,” Bhattacharyya said.
The first Indian Chair in the Arab world was established in Ain Shams University, Cairo and an Indian professor of Biotechnology would begin his tenure shortly.
“The two leaders agreed that a special and enlarged “India by the Nile Festival” would be held in 2017 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of India’s independence. They also welcomed the proposal to have the inaugural “Egypt by the Ganga Festival” in 2017,” the joint statement added.
The Egyptian President, a former Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian armed forces, would leave India September 3 and travel to Hangzhou to attend the G-20 Summit.
Ahead of the President’s visit to India, Egyptian newspapers highlighted the importance of the trip by analysing the economic, political and cultural aspects of the bilateral ties.
President Al Sisi, who was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising ministers, officials and business leaders, also interacted with Indian business leaders during his visit.
“India and Egypt enjoy excellent relations marked by strong, traditional and civilizational ties and contribute towards peace and development in the world,” a statement from the MEA concluded.
Egypt was one of the first countries to feel the impact of the Arab Spring revolution which began in 2011 and saw the overthrow of long ruling dispensations in Tunisia and Egypt, besides Yemen and Libya.
Since coming to power in June 2014, President Al-Sisi has taken steps to boost the Egyptian economy. Last year, he inaugurated the New Suez Canal, a waterway running parallel to a part of the 19th century Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The project cost an estimated $8 billion.
His visit to India comes at a time when India has stepped up its engagement with countries in Africa and West Asia. India-Africa ties have been steadily evolving in recent years and, after the IAFS last October, India has emerged as one of the major trading partners of Africa.
Continuing that engagement, the Indian President visited three African countries earlier this year, as did the Indian Vice-President. Prime Minister Modi visited the United Arab Emirates last year and, this year, he has visited Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
