Since becoming the Prime Minister of India in 2014, Narendra Modi arrived in Egypt for the first time on June 24, 2023 on a two-day State Visit. In Cairo, he held separate meetings with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to discuss various bilateral, regional and international issues, with a special emphasis on bilateral trade and investments. It may be noted that it was the first bilateral visit to Cairo by an Indian Prime Minister after 26 years.
Upon his arrival in the Egyptian capital, Prime Minister Modi was greeted with a ceremonial welcome and guard of honour. Earlier, his Egyptian counterpart Madbouly received him at the airport. India has maintained cordial relations with Egypt since the days of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) after Independence (1947). However, Egypt, along with Turkey, China and Pakistan, did not attend a recent G-20 meeting held in the northern Indian Province of Kashmir. In such a situation, the Indian Premier met the top political leadership of Egypt.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has issued a statement, mentioning that the two friendly nations signed an agreement on strategic partnership on June 25. Talking to the media, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said: "The four agreements that were signed during the visit (June 24-25) of the honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi - first, the most important, and a landmark development in the history of (the) bilateral relationship was the signature on the strategic partnership between India and Egypt. It was signed by the Honourable Prime Minister Modi and the Honourable President El Sisi of Egypt."
The Foreign Secretary claimed that the bilateral green and renewable collaboration would be an important part of future partnership due to the importance that the two sides attached to clean energy. India and Egypt also signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in the fields of agriculture, archaeology and antiquities, and competition law. Later, the visiting Prime Minister discussed multilateral cooperation at the G-20 and other issues, including food, energy security and climate change, with President El Sisi. The two leaders decided to push bilateral trade to USD 12 billion within the next five years.
On June 25 morning, the Government of El Sisi honoured Prime Minister Modi with the highest honour of the land, the Order of the Nile. After receiving the honour, the Indian PM stressed: "It is with great humility that I accept the 'Order of the Nile'. I thank the Government and people of Egypt for this honour. It indicates the warmth and affection they have towards India and the people of our nation." He also described his first state visit to Egypt as historic. Before Modi, late Sultan Qaboos (the ruler of Oman), Nelson Mandela and the late President of Indonesia Suharto had received the Order of the Nile.
Before leaving for New Delhi, Prime Minister Modi visited the Heliopolis Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery to pay homage to over 4,300 Indian soldiers who had perished in Egypt and Aden during the First World War. He also met members of the Indian community, apart from visiting the Al Hakim Mosque. During his stay in Cairo, the Indian Prime Minister also met Tarek Heggy, the renowned Egyptian author and petroleum strategist, to discuss various issues, including radicalism and gender equality.
Seasoned diplomats believe that Prime Minister Modi's visit to Egypt is a significant one for various reasons. During his visit, the concerned authorities in Egypt handed over a part of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, along the banks of the Suez Canal, to the Indian entrepreneurs. The Suez Canal has a special importance, both commercially and geo-strategically. Nearly 500,000 barrels of crude oil are transported by sea to India every day via the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
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