Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman embarked on a two-day official visit to Egypt on September 20-22, 2018. She met the Egyptian Minister of Defence and Military Production & Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Mohamed Ahmed Zaki Mohamed. The Ministers decided to explore deeper cooperation in the fields of defence industry and R&D, including the joint production of defence equipment. Both sides agreed to work towards enhanced cooperation in counter-terrorism and naval cooperation. The two countries are also working towards holding joint military exercises.