Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdelatty in India next week. Focus on joint defence production, exports
'Defence cooperation is one of the low hanging fruits. I see an opportunity and a challenge. The challenge is that we should not look at selling to each other's markets. I should not try and come to sell to you (India) and you should not try and come to sell to me. The opportunity is joint production,' Ambassador Galal said while speaking at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) here.
New Delhi: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty will visit India next week and a major part of the agenda will involve pushing for a potential plan for joint defence production between New Delhi and Cairo, with a view of exporting to third countries, Egypt's Ambassador to India Kamel Galal said Wednesday.
The Egyptian Ambassador highlighted that Cairo has roughly a 'network' of 110 or more free trade agreements across the globe, including with West Asia, Africa, Europe and MERCOSUR (South America). This network of free trade deals would open the door for the jointly produced goods between Indian and Egyptian firms to a market of nearly '2.5 billion customers'.
Galal's comments came at a session moderated by Harsh V. Pant, the vice president for studies and foreign policy at ORF.
In 2022, after a visit by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, New Delhi and Cairo signed a memorandum of understanding in defence cooperation. Both countries have held 10 meetings of the Joint Defence Committee (JDC), which determines the cooperation in this sector between New Delhi and Cairo. The last JDC was held in New Delhi last year.
While both nations maintained close defence ties in the late 1950s and 1960s, the ties 'eased' starting from the 1970s due to the two countries own pressing 'domestic challenges', said Galal.
However, the Egyptian ambassador said that since 2014, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi coming to power in India and President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi entering office in Cairo, the two countries have seen revived strategic cooperation.
In 2023, the ties between India and Egypt were elevated to a Strategic Partnership during Modi's State visit to the North African nation, while Sisi was the chief guest at India's Republic Day parade that same year.
Egypt has been touted as an evacuation route for Indians currently in Israel, especially as Tel Aviv's conflict with Iran continues to escalate following the start of Operation Rising Lion on 13 June.
On Egypt aiding the evacuating Indians from Israel, Galal said, 'I am sure the Indian embassy in Cairo is in touch with the foreign ministry and I'm sure we will give all assistance for this.'
Also Read: Egypt out military shopping, eyes Tejas and Dhruv as high-level delegation visits HAL
'More potential for trade, people-to-people ties'
Galal stressed that the current economic engagement between India and Egypt, which is between $3-$4 billion, is far below the potential, given the comparative sizes of the two economies. The Egyptian Ambassador said that the 'minimum' it should be at is between '$30 billion to $40 billion'.
However, currently New Delhi and Cairo have agreed to hit a goal of $12 billion in trade as soon as possible. As a part of deepening economic cooperation, Galal pointed out that Egypt has 'offered' India a 'specific zone' in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), which is a special economic zone in the country to attract foreign investment.
'India is studying this issue. For the incentive we are going to offer. No taxes, no customs duty, nothing you would imagine as a part of the zone. Everything is zero. This is a huge opportunity for Indian investments to come,' Galal said.
However, the Egyptian ambassador pointed out that as old civilisations, with 'historic' ties, New Delhi and Cairo must not look at one another solely within the lens of markets or potential investors, rather with a sense of deeper ties. 'The key to unlock India-Egypt ties is the people-to-people connect.'
The Egyptian ambassador said he would like to see the North African country as India's preferred destination in the region for tourism and potentially see greater ties between youth forums.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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