New Delhi: Ahead of talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Sunday amid speculation that Egypt may announce the allocation of a special area of land for the Indian industries in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCEZ) to woo Indian investors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks late on Saturday evening with the India Unit in the Egyptian Cabinet headed by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly in Cairo.
The "discussions focused on deepening cooperation across a range of areas including trade & investment, renewable energy, green hydrogen, IT, digital payment platforms, pharma and people-to-people ties".
Later, the Prime Minister also met the Grand Mufti of Egypt Shawky Ibrahim Allam, who is the top-most Islamic cleric of the North African Arab nation. New Delhi said "the Grand Mufti appreciated Mr Modi’s leadership in fostering inclusivity and pluralism".
After his successful three-day visit to the United States, the Prime Minister, upon his arrival in Egypt, tweeted, "Landed in Cairo. I am confident this visit will strengthen India’s ties with Egypt. I look forward to talks with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and attending other programmes."
In a special gesture, the PM was received on his arrival by his Egyptian Prime Minister. PM Modi tweeted, "I thank Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly for the special gesture of welcoming me at the airport. May India-Egypt ties flourish and benefit the people of our nations."
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted: "In his first engagement in Cairo, PM@narendramodi held a meeting with the newly setup India Unit in the Egyptian Cabinet@CabinetEgy, headed by PM Mostafa Madbouly. Seven Cabinet ministers and senior officials were present at the meeting. Discussions focused on deepening cooperation across a range of areas, including trade & investment, renewable energy, green hydrogen, IT, digital payment platforms, pharma and people-to-people ties. The PM thanked Egypt for setting up this dedicated high-level India Unit and appreciated the whole government's approach."
In another tweet, the MEA spokesperson said, "PM @narendramodi met His Eminence Prof. Shawky Ibrahim Allam, Grand Mufti of Egypt. They discussed the strong cultural and people-to-people relations between India and Egypt. Discussions also focused on issues related to social and religious harmony in society and countering extremism and radicalisation. The Grand Mufti appreciated the PM's leadership in fostering inclusivity and pluralism. PM conveyed that India would set up a centre of excellence in IT at the Dar-al-Ifta under the ministry of social justice of Egypt."
The Egyptian President had visited India and was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day parade on January 26 this year. At that time, the two leaders had decided to upgrade India-Egypt bilateral relations to the level of a "strategic partnership" covering political, security, defence, energy and economic areas.
On Saturday, Mr Modi also met members of the Indian community in Cairo and will also meet Egyptian "thought leaders".
On Sunday, the PM will visit the historic 11th-century Al-Hakim Mosque, which was earlier renovated by the Bohra community. The visit is expected to be closely watched and is being seen in the context of Mr Modi’s recent address to the US Congress, where he spoke about how India celebrates its diversity and the different faiths of its people.
The PM will then hold talks with the Egyptian President on the entire gamut of bilateral ties, followed by delegation-level talks after which various pacts are likely to be announced. The PM will then return to India.
