PM Modi Meets President El-Sisi: What Is At Stake For India-Egypt Relations

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on his first official visit to Cairo, Egypt, with a strong focus on enhancing defense and economic cooperation between the two countries.

The visit follows President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's trip to India just five months ago, as both nations seek to elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership beyond historical ties and regular diplomatic exchanges.

During the two-day visit, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to meet President Sisi, marking the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Egypt since 1997. The two countries have witnessed intensive political exchanges at the ministerial level in recent months, building on the momentum generated by President Sisi's visit to India, as reported by Nikkei Asia.

Defense collaboration is a key area of interest. India sees an opportunity in Egypt's plans to acquire a significant number of light combat aircraft, and the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has proposed its indigenous single-engine HAL Tejas fighter for consideration.

The versatile Tejas aircraft, utilised by India's air force and navy, has garnered attention.

HAL has offered to establish a production line in Egypt, facilitating technology transfer to the Egyptian side. Additionally, HAL has presented an advanced light helicopter and its combat variant.

The Indian company aims to leverage the production line as a base for exporting to other regions in Africa and western Asia.

In terms of the economic front, Egypt is seeking a barter agreement with India to conduct trade without relying on the US dollar. To preserve its dollar reserves, Egypt intends to facilitate payments in rupees or through exports of fertilizer and gas, both of which India heavily imports.

Such a system would likely be part of a broader agreement, potentially involving India extending a line of credit worth billions of dollars to Egypt.

Bilateral trade between India and Egypt reached a record $7.26 billion in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, representing a 75 per cent surge from the previous year. During President Sisi's visit to India in January, both leaders aimed to elevate the trade volume to $12 billion within the next five years.

Egypt ranks among the top five exporters of energy commodities to India, including crude oil and liquefied natural gas. Cairo considers Asia, including India, as a promising market for its natural gas.

The Indian Embassy in Cairo reports that India's primary imports from Egypt include petroleum oil, petroleum gas, and chemical fertilizer.

Hussein Haridi, a former senior diplomat at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, highlighted India's perception of Egypt as a pivotal partner in its Global South initiative, which gained traction through its vaccine diplomacy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Egypt's political and strategic influence in the Middle East and Africa, coupled with its experience as a leader in the Non-Aligned Movement during the 1960s, positions it as a valuable partner. The Non-Aligned Movement represented a forum of developing countries that did not align with major power blocs.

The aspiration is that cooperation between Cairo and New Delhi within the Global South initiative will foster global equilibrium and safeguard the interests of the developing world, Haridi asserted.

India's pursuit of becoming a prominent figure within the Global South coincides with strained relations with neighboring China, stemming from border clashes in the Himalayas.

Prime Minister Modi emphasised the potential of strategic cooperation between India and Egypt in promoting peace and prosperity in the entire region during the January meeting with President Sisi.

With India and Egypt situated on either side of the Arabian Sea, they envision their collaboration as a catalyst for regional stability and prosperity.