Army Chief General Manoj Pande visiting Egypt to advance defence ties

Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj Pande is visiting Egypt on May 16–17, 2023 in a bid to advance and strengthen the defence ties between India and Egypt.

"During the visit, the Army Chief will be meeting the country’s senior military leadership where he will discuss avenues for further enhancing Indo-Egypt defence relations," India's Ministry of Defence said on Monday (May 15, 2023). He will also visit various Egyptian Armed Forces establishments and exchange ideas on issues of mutual interest.

Among the key officials the Army Chief will meet are the Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, the Minister of Defence & Military Production, the Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces, and the Chief of the Egyptian Armed Force Operations Authority.

In recent years, defence ties between the Indian and Egyptian militaries have been growing steadily. This is evident from the fact that the Egyptian Armed Forces made their maiden appearance at India's 74th Republic Day celebration this year, while Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was the event's chief guest.

Significantly, the Indian Army and Egyptian Army carried out the first-ever combined Special Forces exercise, called 'Ex Cyclone-I,' in January of this year. The 14-day exercise focused on sharing professional skills and interoperability of special forces in desert terrain while undertaking counter terrorism, reconnaissance, raids and other special operations.

It is worth recalling that in September 2022, during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's visit to Cairo, India and Egypt had signed a pact on defence cooperation thereby signalling their intent to forge closer ties in this sphere.

"The visit of the COAS will further deepen the bilateral relationships between the two Armies and act as a catalyst for closer coordination and cooperation between the two countries on a host of strategic issues," the Ministry of Defence said.