Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Egypt in the second leg of his two-nation tour from June 24 to 25. PM Modi is visiting the North African country at the invitation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. The Egyptian president had invited PM Modi for a state visit when he was here for India's Republic Day celebrations as chief guest in January.
It is worth noting that this will be PM Modi’s first trip to Egypt since coming to power in 2014. In fact, his two-day visit is the first bilateral visit by an Indian leader since 1997.
While a lot has been written about the visit and outcomes with the US, the PM’s visit to Cairo is also highly significant in the Asian context since West Asia and North Africa are strategically critical geographies for India.
During his trip, Modi will be visiting some symbolic Egyptian sites on June 25.
According to a PTI report, the Indian PM will take a tour of the 11th Century Al-Hakim mosque, which was restored with the help of the Dawoodi Bohra community.
Additionally, Modi will also visit the Heliopolis War Cemetery to pay his tributes to the Indian soldiers who died for Egypt during World War 1. PM Modi is also scheduled to hold a meet-and-greet with the members of the Indian community on June 24.
He will hold deliberations with a group of high-level ministers constituted by the Egyptian president. This group has been formed to boost relations with India. PM Modi and President el-Sisi will then hold one-on-one talks and oversee the signing of various memoranda of understanding and agreements.
During President el-Sisi’s visit to India in January, the two leaders had agreed to elevate the relationship between the two countries to a strategic partnership.
PM Modi’s quick reciprocal visit shows that India and Egypt are trying to strengthen all aspects of their relationship. India has even invited Egypt as a special guest to the G20 summit, which will be held in New Delhi in September.
Last week, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had issued an official statement regarding PM Modi’s visit to Egypt. "Relations between India and Egypt are based on ancient trade and economic linkages as well as cultural and deep-rooted people-to-people ties," the MEA said.
