PM Modi, Egyptian President El-Sisi discuss bilateral ties and regional issues

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Sunday, with discussions held on various issues, including bilateral ties and regional issues.

During the meeting, President El-Sisi emphasised the importance of continuing to take concrete steps to strengthen the bilateral partnership, especially in the manufacturing, technology, clean energy, and automotive sectors. He also highlighted Egypt's competitive advantages like its strategic location, qualified human resources, extensive network of free trade agreements, and the incentives offered by the Suez Canal Economic Zone and other industrial areas, a statement issued by Mohamed El-Shenawy, spokesperson for the Egyptian Presidency, detailed.

He stated that PM Modi expressed India's readiness to continue developing bilateral relations across various fields, praising Egypt's pivotal role in its regional environment and its significant economic and human potential.

According to the statement, PM Modi emphasised his government's encouragement of Indian companies to increase their investments in Egypt and explore available opportunities, as well as the importance of maximising the role of the business communities in both countries and strengthening ties between them to support joint projects and the transfer of expertise and technology.

The two leaders discussed opportunities for cooperation in the fields of new and renewable energy, green hydrogen, pharmaceuticals, and information technology.

President El-Sisi praised India's successful chairmanship of the BRICS and its efforts in strengthening cooperation among member countries, in a way that serves the interests of the countries of the Global South and supports multilateral international action. PM Modi welcomed President El-Sisi and Egypt's active participation in the BRICS Summit.

Both leaders reviewed the strong momentum in the India-Egypt Strategic Partnership and discussed ways to further deepen cooperation across sectors including trade and investment, defence and security, technology, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges, according to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on X. The two leaders emphasised that both countries will continue to work closely together, including through BRICS, to advance the priorities of the Global South.

Following the meeting, PM Modi wrote on X: "Had a wonderful interaction with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during the BRICS Summit. We talked about various issues, notably regional issues and the India-Egypt friendship that is significantly growing in recent times."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

IANS

[email protected]