India and Egypt agreed on January 25, 2023, to elevate their bilateral ties to “Strategic Partnership”. The partnership covers political, security, defence, energy and economic aspects.
Key points
- Both countries also reiterated support for the Non-Aligned Movement.
- A joint statement issued after the bilateral engagements, Egypt President Abdel Fateh el-Sisi, who was the chief guest at the Republic Day parade, said both countries expressed desire for exchange of technology between their defence industries.
- The two countries signed five MoUs covering culture, cooperation on youth matters, cyber security, information and technology (IT) and public broadcasting.
- Prasar Bharati and National Media Authority of Egypt signed an MoU during the formal ceremony at the Hyderabad House.
- India and Egypt agreed to “initiate new engagements to intensify military- to-military engagements” and planned more joint exercises between the armed forces of the two countries.
- The two governments agreed to fight terrorism in all forms, “including cross- border terrorism” and intensify consultation bet- ween their respective National Security Councils.
- Egypt plans to allot land to Indian industries in Suez Canal special economic zone. The joint statement said that the Indian side can arrange the master plan for the proposal. The proposal is in the context of India’s offer to encourage its companies, which have the potential to undertake overseas investments, to make use of the available investment opportunities in Egypt.
India-Egypt bilateral relations
- The two countries are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.
- The ties have been on an upswing in the recent past and both delegations supported reform of the UN Security Council, where Egypt was a non-permanent member during 2016- 17 and India had a similar stint during 2021-22.
- Egypt’s relation with India was also helped by its display of pragmatism especially on the backdrop of the Nupur Sharma controversy of 2022 when Cairo maintained silence while certain Gulf countries were vocal in criticising India.
