Egypt President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to visit India from Jan 24-26 at PM Modi’s invitation

President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is set to pay a state visit to India from 24-26 January 2023 at the invitation of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This will be President Sisi’s second State Visit to India.

While being accompanied by a high-level delegation, including senior officials and five ministers, President Sisi is also to be the Chief Guest on India's 74th Republic Day on 26 January. President Sisi previously visited India in October 2015 to participate in the 3rd India-Africa Summit followed by a second visit in September 2016 on a State Visit.

Notably, this year, India and Egypt are celebrating 75 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties. Furthermore, India has invited Egypt as a 'Guest Country’ during its Presidency of G-20, India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated. Upon arrival, President Sisi will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 25 January by India’s President Droupadi Murmu followed by a State Banquet to honour the visiting dignitary the same evening.

Defence cooperation on agenda

President Sisi is set to have a bilateral meeting and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Modi on issues pertaining to bilateral relations in addition to regional and global issues of mutual interests with India’s Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar.  

India and Egypt share “warm and friendly relations marked by civilizational, cultural and economic linkages and deep-rooted people-to-people ties,” India’s Foreign Ministery stated in a press release.

“The multifaceted relationship is based on shared cultural values, commitment to foster economic growth, collaboration in the fields of defence and security and convergence on regional and global issues,” it added.

Image: Twitter/@adgpi (Exercise Cyclone-1)

Notably, a 180-member military contingent from Egypt will take part in the Republic Day celebrations at Kartavya Path on 26 January. Additionally, the militaries of the two countries are currently engaged in a bilateral military Exercise ‘CYCLONE – I’ between the Special Forces elements of Indian and Egyptian Armies. The exercise is underway in Rajasthan with a focus on the exchange of professional skills and experiences in Special Forces Operations.  

The two countries share healthy bilateral trade ties with a record high of $7.26 billion recorded in FY 2021. India’s Foreign Ministry revealed the trade to be fairly balanced, with $3.74 billion in exports from India to Egypt while $3.52 billion in imports from Egypt were recorded. Furthermore, more than fifty Indian companies investments of up to $3.15 billion in various sectors of the Egyptian economy, including energy, chemicals, textile, garment, and retail.  

The deepening of the defence cooperation between the two nations is also expected to be discussed during the Egyptian President’s visit. Egypt has also shown some interest in purchasing indigenously developed Tejas multi-role light combat aircraft with officials from the aircraft’s developers Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in touch with the Egyptian side.