New Delhi [India], January 26 (ANI): Exuding confidence in India, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said under New Delhi’s presidency, the G20 will be successful in achieving its goal, the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement. Egyptian President, who was the chief guest at the Republic Day Parade, held discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday and the two countries decided to work together during India’s Presidency and reiterated that the interests and priorities of the Global South be given due attention and focus in key global forums, including the G20.
During his visit from January 24-27, President El-Sisi attended India’s 74th Republic Day parade as the chief guest. He was the first Egyptian premier to have been invited to the Republic Day parade. During the Republic Day Parade, a military contingent of the Egyptian Army marched towards the saluting dais on the Kartavya Path for the first time.
The Egyptian military contingent, led by Colonel Mahmoud Mohamed Abdel Fattah El Kharasawy and consisting of 144 soldiers, represented the main regiments of the Egyptian armed forces. The Egyptian forces considered it an honour and privilege to participate in India’s Republic Day parade.
The Egyptian contingent carried the legacy of one of the oldest regular armies known to humanity.
Following the parade, Sisi attended the ‘At Home’ reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan, hosted by President Droupadi Murmu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, former President Ram Nath Kovind, former Vice President Hamid Ansari, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, EAM S Jaishankar, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Ministers, and other dignitaries were also present in the ‘At Home’ reception.
After the ‘At Home’ reception, El-Sisi met Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar in New Delhi. According to the joint statement, India and Egypt had reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism, the principles of the United Nations Charter, international law, the founding values of the Non-Aligned Movement, and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states.
The two sides took into consideration the cultural and social sensitivities of all states and, in this regard, they agreed to work together to promote and safeguard these basic principles through regular consultations and coordination at bilateral and multilateral levels.
As per the statement, PM Modi and President El-Sisi reiterated their common resolve to promote the values of peace, tolerance, and inclusiveness and make concerted efforts to fight terrorism and violent extremist ideologies.
They emphasised the need for a holistic approach to counter terrorism and violent extremism, which includes inter alia disrupting the use of the internet and social media and preventing the use of religious centres to radicalise youth and recruit terrorist cadres. Both leaders also agreed on the need to hold the JWG on Counter-Terrorism on regular basis to exchange information and best practices. The two sides further agreed on enhancing interaction between their respective National Security Councils, as per the official statement.
Talking about the financial data, both the leaders appreciated the strong bilateral economic engagement and expressed satisfaction at the current level of bilateral trade at a record high of USD 7.26 billion in 2021-22, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. They expressed confidence that a bilateral trade target of USD 12 billion could be achieved within the next five years by both countries, by diversifying the trade basket and focusing on value addition.
The Egyptian side welcomed the flow of more Indian investments and promises to offer incentives and facilities as per applicable regulations and frameworks. On its part, India underlined its support for this approach by encouraging its companies.
The Egyptian side also considered the possibility of allocating a special area for the Indian industries in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCEZ), and the Indian side can arrange for the master plan, according to the statement. The two leaders welcomed the signing of the MoU for cooperation in the field of defence during the visit of India’s Minister of Defence Shri Rajnath Singh to Egypt in September 2022.
They appreciated that bilateral military-to-military cooperation has reached a new level and agreed to further enhance and deepen defence cooperation in all fields, especially by exchanging technology between defence industries, widening the footprint of military exercises, and exchanging best practices. They emphasised the need for co-production in the defence sector and discussed specific proposals in the framework of the JDC.
Prime Minister Modi and President El-Sisi underscored the importance of open, free, stable, accessible, safe, trusted and accountable cyberspace, as enablers for economic growth and innovation. In particular, they reaffirmed a multi-stakeholder approach to internet governance and their wish to deepen deliberations on the applicability of international law to cyberspace and set norms of responsible behaviour of States, in light of grave security challenges posed by a worrying increase in the malicious uses of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). While highlighting their wish to increase bilateral cooperation on ICT-related issues, the two leaders welcomed the signing of the MoU on Cooperation in the area of Cyber Security.
Egypt also took note of India’s candidature for a non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council for the term 2029-29, the statement read. The two leaders highlighted the leading role of India and Egypt in the maintenance of international peace and security by being among the ten largest troop and police contributing countries to the United Nations peacekeeping missions. They reaffirmed the importance of ensuring the participation of troop-contributing countries in the decision-making process of such operations. President El-Sisi extended a cordial invitation to Prime Minister Modi to visit Egypt and the two leaders said they looked forward to continuing interactions at all levels and fora. (ANI)
