Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Mostafa Madbouly of India and Egypt met in Cairo on Saturday to discuss deepening cooperation between the two countries. Modi arrived in Cairo on Saturday for a two-day visit, which is the first visit of an Indian premier for 26 years.
The leaders held a roundtable meeting with seven cabinet ministers and senior officials from both countries, where they discussed a range of issues, including trade and investment, renewable energy, green hydrogen, IT, digital payment platforms, and pharma.
Modi thanked Egypt for setting up a dedicated India Unit in its cabinet, and expressed his appreciation for the “whole of government” approach to the relationship.
The two countries also discussed people-to-people ties, and Modi announced that he would visit the Al-Hakim Mosque and the Heliopolis War Grave cemetery in Cairo on Sunday.
India and Egypt have a long history of cooperation, and the visit by Modi is seen as an opportunity to further strengthen the relationship.
Since the 1980s, four Indian prime ministers have visited Egypt: Rajiv Gandhi in 1985, PV Narasimha Rao in 1995, IK Gujral in 1997, and Manmohan Singh in 2009.
On the Egyptian side, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi arrived in Delhi on a three-day visit as the chief guest of the Indian Republic Day celebrations. President Hosni Mubarak visited India three times: in 1982, 1983 (during the Non-Aligned Movement summit), and 2008.
