During India visit, Egyptian President El-Sisi aims to strengthen economic relations

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi will be looking at strengthening economic relations with India during his visit which began on Tuesday.

President El-Sisi, who is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including five ministers and senior officials, is also set to highlight investment opportunities in Egypt.

He will attend the 74th Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi on January 26 as the Chief Guest, becoming the first Egyptian President to do so.

Earlier, on Wednesday (January 25), he will hold a bilateral meeting and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest in addition to calling on President Droupadi Murmu.

The visiting Egyptian President, who is on his second state visit to the country, will also interact with the Indian business community at an event on the same day.

According to the official spokesperson for the Egyptian Presidency, the meeting with heads and representatives of a number of leading Indian companies in various fields is to discuss mechanisms for strengthening economic relations between the two sides, and to review attractive investment opportunities in Egypt.

According to Indian government data, bilateral trade between India and Egypt achieved a record high of USD 7.26 billion in FY 2021-22. The official figures show the trade was fairly balanced, with USD 3.74 billion Indian exports to Egypt and USD 3.52 billion imports from Egypt to India.

Additionally, more than 50 Indian companies have invested around USD 3.15 billion in diverse sectors of Egyptian economy, including chemicals, energy, textile, garment, agri-business, and retail.

The Egyptian Presidency's spokesperson stated that the invitation of the President as a chief guest of honor to the Republic Day event reflects the deep appreciation that India has for Egypt's leadership, government and people.

The spokesperson also referred to the deep interest of the Indian side in strengthening relations of joint cooperation between the two friendly countries as one of the most important emerging countries and their vital role in various issues on the regional and international arenas.

Announcing details about the visit, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said, " The forthcoming visit of President Sisi is expected to further strengthen and deepen the time-tested partnership between India and Egypt".