Modi meets Grand Mufti of Egypt in Cairo

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his maiden state visit to Egypt, on Saturday met the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Allam on Saturday.

Earlier, he also held a roundtable meeting with the Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouly. In his first engagement in Cairo, PM Modi held a meeting with the newly setup India Unit in the Egyptian Cabinet, headed by Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouly. Seven Cabinet Ministers and senior officials were present in the meeting, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

During the meeting, discussions focused on deepening cooperation across a range of areas including trade and investment, renewable energy, green hydrogen, IT, digital payment platforms, pharma and people-to-people ties.

He also thanked Egypt for setting up this dedicated high-level India Unit and appreciated the government’s approach towards boosting bilateral ties between the two countries.
After the meeting, PM Modi interacted with the members of the Indian community.

PM Modi, who was received by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on his arrival at Cairo, and was accorded a ceremonial welcome, became the first Prime Minister to visit the country since 1997.

PM Modi is visiting Egypt at the invitation of the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, which he extended in January 2023 when he graced India’s Republic Day celebrations as the ‘Chief Guest.’

Indian Ambassador to Egypt Ajit Gupte on Friday said for the first time, a roundtable meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Egyptian Prime Minister is taking place.

On Sunday, Prime Minister will spend nearly half an hour at the Al-Hakim Mosque– a historic and prominent mosque in Cairo named after Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (985-1021), the 16th Fatimid caliph. The mosque of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah is an important cultural site for the Dawoodi Bohra community in Cairo.

During his first Egypt tour, the PM will also visit the Heliopolis War Grave cemetery to pay tribute to the Indian soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice fighting for Egypt during the First World War.

The visit is of significance as Egypt has traditionally been one of India’s most important trading partners in the African continent. India-Egypt Bilateral Trade Agreement has been in operation since March 1978 and is based on the Most Favored Nation clause, according to the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

India was Egypt’s fifth largest trading partner in the period April 2022-Dec 2022. It was the 11th-largest importer of Egyptian goods and the 5th-largest exporter to Egypt during the same time.

The two countries share a close political understanding based on a long history of contact and cooperation in bilateral, regional and global issues.

India and Egypt share close political understanding based on a long history of contact and cooperation in bilateral, regional and global issues. The joint announcement of the establishment of diplomatic relations at the Ambassadorial level was made on August 18, 1947.Since the 1980s, there have been four Prime Ministerial visits from India to Egypt.

Rajiv Gandhi visited the country in 1985, PV Narasimha Rao in 1995, IK Gujral in 1997, and Manmohan Singh in 2009. From the Egyptian side, President Hosni Mubarak visited India in 1982, in 1983 (NAM Summit), and again in 2008.

High-level exchanges with Egypt continued after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and then President Mohamed Morsi visited India in March 2013. External Affairs Minister (EAM) visited Cairo in March 2012 and the Egyptian Foreign Minister visited India in December 2013.

On April 14, 2022, Egyptian Cabinet announced the inclusion of India in the list of accredited countries which can supply wheat to Egypt, thus ending a long pending Non-Tariff Barrier.

India cleared a shipment of 61,500 metric tonnes of wheat to Egypt on May 17, 2022. (TOO)