Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi will visit India from March 18-20, accompanied by a senior ministerial delegation and a business delegation from the country. During this four-day visit, he will meet and hold discussions with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari, and the Chairman of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, Sonia Gandhi.
Both sides are expected to review bilateral relations – which had weakened during former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s term – and deliberate on ways to expand ties. The discussions are likely to focus on expanding bilateral trade, and the Egyptian side is expected to push for more Indian investment in their country in areas of chemical industries, information technology, engineering industries, and textile, among others.
“The new Government is very clearly looking at a much deeper engagement with India,” said Navdeep Suri, the Indian Ambassador to Egypt.
According to reports, Egypt, as a part of its outreach program, intends to have its own ‘Look East Policy’ in which India would enjoy strategic importance.
The last high bilateral exchange was when Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Egypt in 2012.
Egypt has always been one of India’s most important trade partners in the African continent. Bilateral trade in 2011-12 stood at $ 4.2 billion, making India Egypt’s 7th largest trading partner. Technical cooperation and assistance has also formed a major part of bilateral ties.