EGYPT
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- The Ministry of External Affairs has announced that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi will be the chief guest on Republic Day in January 2023.
- He will be the first guest since 2020, as plans for guests in 2021 and 2022 were cancelled due to COVID-19.
- In 2021, the then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was invited as the chief guest but his visit had to be cancelled due to the rising COVID-19 cases in Britain.
- In 2022, India invited leaders of the five Central Asian Republics as chief guests for the Republic Day celebrations.
- However, the visit was cancelled due to rising COVID-19 cases in India.
India-Egypt Relation
- India and Egypt, two of the world’s oldest civilizations, have enjoyed a history of close contact from ancient times.
- Ashoka’s edicts refer to his relations with Egypt under Ptolemy II.
- In modern times, Mahatma Gandhi and Saad Zaghloul shared common goals regarding the independence of their countries, a relationship that was to blossom into an exceptionally close friendship between President Nasser and Prime Minister Nehru, leading to a Friendship Treaty between the two countries in 1955.
Political Relations
- India and Egypt share close political understanding based on a long history of contact and cooperation in bilateral, regional and global issues.
- The joint announcement of the establishment of diplomatic relations at the Ambassadorial level was made in August 1947.
- Both countries have cooperated closely in multilateral forum and were the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement.
- The year 2022 is of particular significance since it marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Egypt.
Economic Relations
- The India-Egypt Bilateral Trade Agreement has been in operation since March 1978 and is based on the Most Favored Nation clause and the bilateral trade has increased more than five times in the last ten years.
- The bilateral trade in 2018-19 reached US$ 4.55 billion.
- Despite the Pandemic, the volume of trade declined only marginally to US $ 4.5 billion in 2019-20 and to US $ 4.15 billion in 2020-21 (Egypt’s exports to India were valued at US $ 1.89 billion and imports from India at US $ 2.26 billion with India having a favourable trade balance of US$ 372 million.)
- Bilateral trade has expanded rapidly in 2021-22, amounting to 26 billion registering a 75% increase compared to FY 2020-21.
- India’s exports to Egypt during this period amounted to US$ 3.74 billion, registering a 65% increase over the same period in FY 2020-21. At the same time, Egypt’s exports to India reached US$ 3.52 billion registering an 86% increase.
Development assistance:
- The grants-in-aid projects include Pan Africa Tele-medicine and Tele-education project at Alexandria University, the solar electrification project in Agaween village and Vocational Training Centre for textile technology in Shoubra, Cairo, which have been completed.
- Technical cooperation and assistance have been a major part of our bilateral relationship. Since 2000, over 1250 Egyptian officials have benefited from ITEC and other programs like ICCR and IAFS scholarships.
- In the field of scientific cooperation, Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR) and the Agricultural Research Center of Egypt are working in the field of agricultural research.
- ‘Science & Technology’ cooperation is implemented through biennial Executive Programmes and Scientific Cooperation Programme between CSIR (India) and NRC (Egypt).
- Space cooperation is an emerging vertical of cooperation between India and Egypt. Joint Working Group meetings and discussions between ISRO and NARSS (National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences) have been held since an MoU was signed.
Defence Relations
- There was close cooperation between the Air Forces, with efforts at jointly developing a fighter aircraft in the 1960s.
- IAF pilots had also trained Egyptian pilots from the 1960s until 1984.
- Most of the current defence cooperation is determined by Joint Defence Committee (JDC) activities.
- Egypt participated in the Multinational Training Exercise for friendly African countries held at Pune in 2019. The first ever IAF-EAF Joint Tactical Air Exercise, Dessert Warrior, was held in 2021.
- The first ever Special Forces exercise “Cyclone 1” between India and Egypt planned in Jodhpur from 8th – 22nd January 2022 stands postponed.
Cultural Relations
- The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC) has been promoting cultural cooperation between the two countries, through regular activities such as Hindi, Urdu and Yoga classes; seminars; film shows; exhibitions and participation in local cultural activities.
- ‘Sawt-ul-Hind’, Embassy’s flagship Arabic magazine for the past six decades, reached a milestone in July 2017 with the publishing of its 500th edition, depicting the strong bond and vibrant cultural exchanges between the two countries.
Egypt
- Egypt is officially known as the Arab Republic of Egypt. It is bordered by;
- The Mediterranean Sea in the North.
- The Gaza Strip of Palestine and Israel in the Northeast.
- The Red Sea to the East
- Sudan in the South.
- Libya in the West.
- The Gulf of Aqaba in the northeast separates Egypt from Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
- Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt.
- Islam is the official religion of Egypt and Arabic is its official language.
- Egypt is considered to be a regional power in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world, and a middle power worldwide.
- Egypt is a founding member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League, the African Union, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
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