Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 24 reached Cairo, beginning his first state visit to Egypt. The visit to Egypt comes five months after President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi visited India as the Chief Guest at the 2023 Republic Day celebrations here.
“PM Modi will meet with the India Unit of the Egyptian Cabinet,” official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, said in an official broadcast from the Cairo airport. The India Unit is a special group of senior Egyptian Ministers that has been created by President El-Sisi to enhance bilateral ties with India.
The visit acquires significance as it is taking place just days after Mr. Modi wrote to his G20 counterparts to expand the grouping of G20 members by including the African Union, of which Egypt is a leading member.
In a special gesture, the Prime Minister of Egypt, Mostafa Madbouly, received Prime Minister Modi at the airport on Saturday. “I thank Prime Minister His Excellency Mostafa Madbouly for the special gesture of welcoming me at the airport. I hope that the Indo-Egyptian relations will flourish for the benefit of our two nations,” Prime Minister Modi said in a message soon after landing at the Egyptian capital on his way back from Washington D.C.
Apart from the meeting with the Indian community in Cairo, Mr. Modi on Saturday will also meet with the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Allam, who has often spoken against terrorism.
The Grand Mufti of Egypt visited India in May as part of the the Indian Council for Cultural Relations’ (ICCR) Distinguished Visitors Programme. During his tour, the Grand Mufti visited Jaipur, Agra, Hyderabad and Delhi, and also the Aligarh Muslim University. The Grand Mufti has in the past condemned terror attacks, including the 2016 Brussels bombings.
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Mr. Modi will meet leading intellectuals of Egypt during Saturday’s evening.
On Sunday, Mr. Modi will visit the Al Hakim Mosque, which has a rich history of about a thousand years. The mosque was renovated with assistance from the Dawoodi Bohra community, which has in the past honoured Mr. Modi by hosting him at their events. Mr. Modi had described the community as “the nation’s backbone” in 2018.
At 11 a.m. on Sunday in Cairo, Prime Minister Modi will meet President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and both sides are expected to firm up relations across multiple areas, including renewable energy and infrastructure.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra had earlier informed that the head of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) Waleid Gamal El-Dein was carrying out a promotional tour to India that began last week amidst reports that India is eyeing a cluster in the lucrative economic zone being developed along one of the most important commercial waterways in the world.
President El-Sisi’s government has taken a keen interest in developing clean energy ties between India and Egypt. Wedged between the Red and the Mediterranean Seas, Egypt is considered the gateway to North Africa and Europe, apart from being one of the most important Arab powers. In keeping its growing importance to India’s global plans, Egypt will be a “guest country” at the G20 summit in Delhi in September.
