Three-day visit of President of Egypt, Gen Abdel Fattah el-Sisi concluded recently scripting a fresh chapter for both India and Egypt in elevating their ties to a ‘strategic level’. The two sides also decided that under the strategic partnership, they will combat extremist ideology by joining hands in areas such as de-radicalisation and also come down hard on terrorism. India and Egypt have a long-standing and friendly relationship, with deep historical, cultural and economic ties but the recent visit was unlike anything in the past as it provided both the nations to engage further for prosperity of the region. Let’s take a look at the key highlights of the recent visit and also understand as to why the recent signifies India’s renewed foray in to the Arab world.

The Visit

During the Egypt’s President Sisi’s visit the two countries signed several agreements in areas such as defence, trade, and culture. The visit was seen as an opportunity to strengthen the bilateral relations between Egypt and India, as well as to discuss regional and international issues of mutual concern. The two countries signed several agreements to strengthen their bilateral relations. The President was also the Chief Guest during the 74th Republic Day parade, an invitation to be Chief Guest is an important honour that is very high on symbolism. New Delhi’s choice of Chief Guest every year is dictated by a number of reasons — strategic and diplomatic, business interest, and geopolitics. It is worth noting that a military contingent from Egypt also participated in the parade. 

A Historical Connect

The history of contact between India and Egypt, two of the world’s oldest civilisations, can be traced back to at least the time of Ashoka, even prior to it if we take in to accounts of archaeological evidences. Ashoka’s edicts refer to his relations with Egypt under Ptolemy-II. Soon after India’s independence the joint announcement of establishment of diplomatic relations at Ambassadorial level was made on 18 August 1947. India and Egypt signed a friendship treaty in 1955. In 1961, India and Egypt along with Yugoslavia, Indonesia and Ghana established the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM). The ties between India and Egypt have always been strong but it is post 2014 we could see momentum building up between two nations with mutual desire to enhance partnership. In 2016, the joint statement between India and Egypt identified political-security cooperation, economic engagement and scientific collaboration, and cultural and people-people ties as the basis of a new partnership for a new era.

Strategic Partnership

During this year’s meeting, both India and Egypt agreed to elevate the bilateral relationship to a “strategic partnership”. The strategic partnership will have broadly four elements: political, defence, and security; economic engagement; scientific and academic collaboration; cultural and people-to-people contacts. India and Egypt have also signed a MOU for three years to facilitate content exchange, capacity building, and co-productions between Prasar Bharati and the National Media Authority of Egypt. Under the pact, both broadcasters will exchange their programmes of different genres like sports, news, culture, entertainment on bilateral basis. India views Egypt as a moderate Islamic voice among Muslim-majority countries, and as a partner within the Organization for Islamic Cooperation. During this Republic Day meeting, India and Egypt expressed concerns about the spread of terrorism around the world as it is the most serious security threat to humanity. Consequently, the two countries agreed that concerted action is necessary to end cross-border terrorism.  The two countries are also looking at deepening defence and security cooperation. Moreover, the two Air Forces collaborated on the development of fighter aircraft in the 1960s, and Indian pilots trained their Egyptian counterparts from the 1960s until the mid-1980s. Plus, Both the Indian Air Force and Egyptian air force fly the French Rafael Jets In 2022, a pact was signed between the two countries that have decided to also participate in exercises and cooperate in training. The first joint special forces exercise between the Indian Army and the Egyptian Army, “Exercise Cyclone-I” has been underway since 14 January 2023 in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

India Is A Friend In Need For Egypt

Egypt’s economy has been in chaos over the past few years due to the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war which impacted its supply of food as almost 80% of Egypt’s grain imported from Russia and Ukraine and impacted Egypt’s foreign exchange reserves. The Egypt was reeling from food shortages and inflation. On the other side of the globe India was also witnessing challenges, on top of the impact from war, 2022’s rabi crop was struck by heatwave which almost cutdown 30% wheat yield in India. India had to impose restriction on wheat exports. Despite restrictions on export of wheat, India stepped up for Egypt and allowed shipments of 61,500 metric tonnes to Egypt. The reliability of India is increasing in the world. From India, Egypt is seeking investments in infrastructure including Metro projects, a Suez Canal economic zone, a second channel of the Suez Canal, and a new administrative capital in Egypt. More than 50 Indian companies have invested more than USD 3.15 billion in Egypt. India has been able to showcase that the nation is in fact a friend in need for Egypt.

Strategic Significance

India’s decision to elevate bilateral ties to the strategic level is rooted in a recognition of the enduring salience of Egypt as a pivotal state sitting at the crossroads of the Middle East, Africa and Europe, with the capacity to influence political outcomes on multiple fronts.

Beyond bilateral ties, the renewed engagement with Egypt is also about expanding and consolidating India’s new coalition with moderate Sunni states in the Middle East, including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which are eager to counter violent religious extremism and also the influence of states which influences extremism such as Pakistan, Qatar and Turkey. Delhi’s strategic partnership with Cairo also opens the door for a larger Indian role in the region which is trying to diversify its partnerships, as the US begins to turn its attention to the Pacific after prolonged and costly military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, China is rapidly raising its regional profile in the Middle East. The Indian foreign policy discourse, with its deepening anti-Western rhetoric and empathy for radical Arab States in the 1970s, was not empathetic to the concerns and interests of Egypt as it made brave moves to rethink its regional policies.

India’s new outreach to Egypt now brings greater balance to India’s engagement with the Middle East as a whole. As it turns out, Egypt is an important strategic partner for the Gulf Arabs. Emirati and Saudi capital today have a major role in the economic transformation of Egypt and its neighbourhood. Another major factor in India-Egypt relation is India’s concern towards growing Chinese influence in the region. China’s bilateral trade with Egypt is currently at USD 15 billion, double that of India’s USD 7.26 billion in 2021-22. During the past eight years, the President of Egypt has travelled to China seven times to lure Chinese investments. Apart from that Egypt, the most populous country in West Asia, occupies a crucial geo-strategic location- 12% of global trade passes through the Suez Canal and is a key player in the region. It is a major market for India and can act as a gateway to both Europe and Africa. However, it also has bilateral trade pacts with important West Asian and African nations which is a cause of concern for India. Thus, the current visit gives valuable reorientation to India in the Arab world to posture itself better amidst rising challenges in the international order.

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