On 24 June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Egypt, on his first-ever official visit to the country. It is also the first bilateral visit paid by an Indian prime minister to Egypt since 1997.
If nothing else, this testifies to the warming ties between the two countries, who by dint of their history, economy, and socio-cultural set-up, should be natural allies. With a thriving middle class, both are regional powers looking to widen their footprint beyond their regions.
One of the major foreign policy achievements of the Modi government has been its outreach to the Middle Eastern region. Egypt is militarily the strongest Arab country as well as the cultural capital of the Arab world. But its unique position – geographically in North Africa – makes it an important African country too. And the Suez Canal through which Indian cargo and freight moves from the Indian to the Mediterranean Sea, imputes special significance to ties with the country.