PM Modi’s Visit Energises India-Egypt Ties

Sustaining the momentum generated by a series of high-level visits to Egypt, PM Modi while returning to India from the US made a two-day stopover in Egypt. The last visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Egypt was in 1997. India has significantly ratcheted up its relations with the Arab countries and the decision of inviting Egypt, UAE and Oman to G20 meetings as India’s guests is a part of this exercise.

Giving a significant boost to India’s Link West Policy, the Modi administration has characteristically accelerated both outreach and engagement with the Middle East Arabian countries. Infusing new enthusiasm in resurrecting the neglected ties, India invited President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi as the Chief Guest for the 2023 Republic Day celebrations. This invitation is the Indian way of honouring special friends. During Sisi’s visit, countries have agreed to elevate the ties to strategic partnership driving the ties towards a multifaceted relationship.

PM Modi’s reciprocal visit to Egypt within six months of President Sisi’s State visit demonstrates New Delhi’s commitment to energise the relationship and expand economic engagement. In a significant show of friendship, the Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly who was heading the ‘Indian Unit’ received Modi at the airport where he was accorded guard of honour.  Indian Unit comprising senior officials and seven cabinet ministers was set up following President Sisi’s State visit to India.

PM Modi welcomed the ‘Whole of the Government Approach’ of Egypt in taking forward the bilateral ties with India. After a brief interaction with the Indian Unit, PM Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Sisi and later both leaders signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement. Discussions on strengthening cooperation in trade and investment, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, counterterrorism cooperation, food and energy security, G20 cooperation dominated the agenda. Both countries have signed three MoUs on agriculture, archaeology and competition law.

Egypt, the most populous Arab country is the gateway to Africa and Europe with immense potential for domestic industries, particularly in the agriculture sector, steel items and light vehicles. Besides its special Arab and African identity, its strategic geographic location with the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Horn of Africa and Suez Canal lends it a crucial maritime significance, especially in terms of commerce and connectivity.

The volume of Indo-Egyptian bilateral trade is currently $7 billion dollars which kept increasing despite the covid. The leaders have set a target of $12 billion in the next five years¹. Indian FDI is around $4 billion and in the past six months, Indian companies made an additional investment of $170 million. Egypt is keen on having an increased Indian presence in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCEZ). Given SCEZ’s easy access to markets in Africa, Europe and Gulf, Indian companies are pushing for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Egypt. This can also boost India’s export-oriented, “Made by India for the World” programme.

India and Egypt shared the common goal of independence and post-Egypt’s independence in 1953, both countries signed the Friendship agreement in 1955. India extended support to Egypt during the Suez Canal crisis in 1956. Subsequently, as founding members of the Non-Alignment Movement, both countries had cordial relations. Both countries were instrumental in creating the G-77 grouping of non-aligned members to promote the collective economic interests of developing countries during the cold war and initiated “South-South Cooperation”. Over subsequent decades marred by political upheavals the bilateral ties suffered neglect.

Expressing confidence in India’s G20 summit, Egypt urged New Delhi to prioritise the interests of developing countries and raise their issues at the international platforms. India, the leading voice of the Global South reaffirmed working towards addressing the global food and fuel shortages instead of allowing the G20 summit to be mired by the Ukraine issue.

Being the largest importer of Wheat, Egypt’s food security took a hit during the Ukraine crisis following the blockade of exports from Russia and Ukraine. India rose to the occasion and supplied wheat to Egypt. Also, India’s shipment of drugs and medical supplies to 13 African countries including Egypt during the Covid has earned the goodwill of Cairo. This outreach reignited friendship between the two countries.

The back-to-back high-profile visits of the defence minister to sign an MoU on enhancing bilateral defence cooperation in September 2022 and EAM Jaishankar’s extending invitation to Egypt as ‘Guest Country” to the G20 Summit in October 2022 had set the platform for the revival of ties. Talks of defence cooperation with Egypt have been on an upswing with India offering to replace Egypt’s ageing Chinese trainers with LCA Tejas Trainer aircraft. Though the deal couldn’t go through with South Korea offering to locally manufacture TA-50 jets, India has offered Akash Defence System and Pinaka Rocket system to Egypt seeking to diversify its weapon systems.

Egypt which has the largest standing army in the Arab League wants to reduce its dependency on Russia for weapons. It is looking for collaborations with countries possessing expertise in developing substitutes for Russian weapon systems and evaluating options from China and India. India is exploring the opportunity for technological collaboration and transfer of technology².  To boost cooperation between the defence forces, India and Egypt held joint air exercises -Desert Warrior in October 2021 and the maiden joint military training exercise-Exercise Cyclone in the deserts of Rajasthan in January 2023.

Another major aspect where India and Egypt are on the same page is counterterrorism. Arab Spring of 2010 which brought about a rapid transformation in the region witnessed Egypt’s shift towards electoral democracy. However, in the first election of the Arab country in 2012, the Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi emerged victorious. But was unceremoniously ousted in a military coup in 2013. Muslim Brotherhood, the brainchild of a school teacher Hassan Al-Banna in 1928 advocated the most extremist form of political Islam. While Qatar, Kuwait, Iran and Turkey had a cosy relationship with this pan-Islamic network, Saudi Arabia and UAE banned Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt too banned it and designated its affiliates as terrorist groups after Sisi came to power. He even revived ties with Saudi Arabia and UAE.

Laying out Egypt Vision 2030, Sisi unveiled National Human Rights Strategy designed to promote social, economic, political and cultural rights. In a discussion along the sidelines of a session on “Human Rights: Present and Future”, Sisi said, “Groups like the Brotherhood gnawed at the state and created a culture of doubt and mistrust, and he warned against allowing countries to be destroyed from within, creating millions and refugees and generation of extremists, and releasing untold damage on the wider region for decades”. Egypt is consciously moving towards moderation without sacrificing its traditional roots and past civilizational culture.

Egypt is the seat of Islamic learning and its famed Al-Azhar University which churns out Muslim scholars and Ulemas is now working towards countering the radical Islamist ideology. The University has other faculties like Commerce, Science, Engineering and Humanities. India established a Centre of Excellence in IT at this University in 2016⁵. The Grand Mufti is elected by the faculty of Islamic scholars of Al Azhar University.

On his Egypt visit, PM Modi met the Grand Mufti Sheikh Shawki Ibrahim Allam and discussed social harmony, countering extremism and radicalisation. Grand Mufti who was in India last month at the invitation of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and in an article ahead of his visit he highlighted the “need for cooperation and bridge-building in a challenging world”⁶. PM Modi also visited the 10^thcentury Al-Hakim Mosque of the Fatimid Era reconstructed by Dawoodi Bohra Muslims. The Indian Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community traces their heritage to this mosque. Bohras have been steadfast supporters of Modi since his days as chief minister. Modi also interacted with the Indian Diaspora living in Egypt.

Ironically amid the ambient cacophonous discourse on PM Modi as fascist and intolerant towards minorities, President Sisi has honoured him with the highest civilian award of “Order of the Nile”. Modi is the first Indian to receive this honour. The fallacious anti-India and anti-Modi narratives seem facetious with PM Modi receiving 13 highest civilian awards in the nine of his tenure as the Prime Minister of India.

Modi’s reciprocal visit to Egypt has come at a time when Cairo is diversifying its partnership and lobbying for membership in BRICS. Notwithstanding the economic crisis in Egypt, India is exploring opportunities for potential bilateral economic cooperation through a liberalised trade regime. Countries are in talks to trade through a barter system and India is mulling permitting Egypt to make rupee payments as a possible means of debt. India is also planning to diversify its fertiliser imports and gas from Egypt. Egypt is interested in Indian investments while India seeking to have greater access to the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region through Cairo.

Egypt’s decision to stay away from attending the meeting of the G20 Working Group of Tourism held in Srinagar has generated an awkward discordance. The lingering contentious posturing of Cairo seeded a scepticism too. Apparently, an idealistic expectation of perfect agreement between countries on all issues is nearly impossible. In this era of reorientation of the world era, countries are forging partnerships based on alignment of interests and hedging against big power competition. The double whammy of covid and the Ukraine crisis has pushed countries to reorient their foreign policies and foster ties beneficial for people at large. In his short visit, PM Modi revived the bilateral ties and bestowed directionality to them for the long haul.