Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi starts a 3-day India trip on Thursday. The trip means he really wants to rekindle the old flame.
India and Egypt’s relationship is historic and the Nehru-Nasser friendship is legendary. Together, with a handful of other world leaders, they kicked off the Non-Aligned Movement. After Nehru and Nasser, however, the India-Egypt relationship declined.
Former President Mohammed Morsi was the first Egyptian President to visit India in 2013 after 3 decades. Al-Sisi ousted Morsi from power in 2013.
Al-Sisi and Modi will probably talk about terrorism and economic engagement. Al-Sisi is against Islamic groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, and Egypt and Pakistan are close. This is a good time for India to bring up its issues with its neighbour and try and get Egypt to take a stand against Pak-based terror groups.
In economic terms, India is Egypt’s fourth largest export destination and is the largest market in its region. Prime Minister Modi has been making efforts to rebuild India’s ties with West Asia with trips to the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran. This just adds to that goal.
China has already pledged large commitments to Cairo. India shouldn’t try to compete with Beijing. Instead, it should look to engage Egypt in different areas and try to bring back the special relationship the countries used to share.
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