At the height of the Cold War in the 1950s, Gamal Abdel Nasser and Jawaharla Nehru teamed up with Tito of Yugoslavia to form the Non-Aligned Movement. India and Egypt are nearly unrecognisable as the countries they were at that time.
In those days, high aspirations, passionate rhetoric, and populism coexisted in a post-colonial age that was flowering for both countries. Memories remain of an era when the global landscape was in the process of shifting; this was a time when non-combatants in the Cold War, such as Egypt, India, and Yugoslavia, wanted to stand and be counted in a world that was still trying to recover from the wounds of the Second World War while being rocked by the waning of European colonialism.
Despite the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the unique bond that once existed between Egypt and India has survived to this day.
This week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will travel to New Delhi to serve as the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations. While in New Delhi, he will also commemorate with the leaders of India the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cairo and Delhi.
It would be Mr. El Sisi’s third visit to India since the former army general took the reins in the most populous Arab nation in 2014, but it would be his most significant visit by far given the giant leaps made by the two countries in cementing and expanding their relationship. The visit would take place in India.
The last time Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, visited Cairo was in August of 2015.
An early celebration of India’s national day was held in Cairo over the weekend, and during it, India’s ambassador to Egypt, Ajit Gupte, made the following statement: “It is a historic event for both nations that will definitely mark a new dawn in our bilateral ties.” “It is vital that the [two] nations move closer to realising a sustainable solution in light of the fact that the globe is facing new dangers.”
A connection that involves several different aspects.
According to estimates provided by the Indian government, the volume of commerce between the two countries increased from $4.55 billion in the fiscal year 2018-19 to $7.26 billion in the fiscal year 2021-22, making India Egypt’s third-largest export market and Egypt’s sixth-largest trading partner.
There are now fifty Indian firms operating in Egypt, contributing to the country’s economy in areas such as manufacturing, chemicals, energy, infrastructure, and retail. The total amount of Indian investment in Egypt is around $3.15 billion.
In the broader context of geopolitics, the visit of Mr. El Sisi comes at a time when India’s cooperation with Egypt and its Gulf allies is needed to deal with the potentially destabilising rivalry in west Asia and over the vital shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and Red Sea. In addition, the visit comes at a time when India’s cooperation with Egypt and its Gulf allies is needed to deal with the situation.
According to the Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs, S. Jaishankar, India taking on a possibly more prominent role in the area would be a reflection of both India’s and Egypt’s historical weight and influence.
“You and I are both states of civilisation. We have a long-standing practise of looking outside the confines of our immediate national interests. He made these remarks in October of last year in Cairo. “We have always had an interest in the globe, and we have a history of working together in that area,” he stated.
Already, navy and aviation forces from Egypt and India have been conducting joint war simulations, and discussions over the sale of Indian-made Tejas light combat aircraft to Egypt have been in way for months. In addition, Egypt and India have been working together to conduct war games.
A cooperation agreement of understanding was inked between the two armies during the visit of Defence Minister Shri Rajnath to Cairo in September of last year. This binds the two military together. During his visit to Egypt, the Indian minister met with Egyptian President El Sisi and his counterpart, General Mohammed Zaki, where they spoke about increasing Egypt and India’s military cooperation.
Since it was first established in 2006, a joint Egyptian-Indian defence committee has had nine meetings to date.
According to Egyptian security authorities, Cairo and Delhi also exchange information with one another and coordinate their efforts regarding counterterrorism. According to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, military co-production or the sale by India of anti-aircraft weapons systems, drones, and armoured vehicles was expected to be on the agenda during the Egyptian leader’s talks in New Delhi. The officials spoke under the condition that they would not be identified.
“During the president’s visit to Delhi, we anticipate that a big agreement on the co-production of military goods would be signed. According to one of the officials, the emphasis of the deal would be on battleships, as well as warplanes and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
An agreement on joint military coproduction would be a type of resuscitation of comparable businesses that were carried out by the two countries in the 1950s and 1960s.
In addition, the acquisition of Indian weapons would be a part of an Egyptian initiative that was launched by Mr. El Sisi to diversify the country’s sources of arms. This initiative aims to complement Egypt’s large arsenal of modern US weapons with hardware from countries such as Germany, Russia, Italy, and France.
Additionally, Cairo has been attempting to get permits to domestically manufacture components of the imported weapon systems in order to facilitate the transfer of military technology. In addition to this, it has made investments in the growth of its fledgling armaments sector.
In an interview that was published earlier this month in the Indian Narrative, Mohammed Soliman of the Middle East Institute in Washington stated that “as Arab states are becoming more influential on the world stage… they are looking for bilateral relations with other powers – chief among them being India.”
“For Arab capitals, India is a competent nuclear power, on the point of surpassing China as the world’s most populous country and the fifth biggest economy in the world… India is also on the cusp of becoming a nuclear power.” “This makes India a natural ally at this period of global chaos,” he continued, alluding in other parts of the interview to the resurgence of what he termed the Cairo-Delhi axis. In other words, he was saying that India was a natural ally during this moment of global instability.