Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his deep pleasure “to be present today among many true friends of India in this meeting.”
Modi said, “I am pleased that my visit to Egypt began with a meeting with you, and perhaps in my next visit, I will have the opportunity to visit the new administrative capital.”
Modi’s statements were made during a roundtable meeting with Mustafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of Egypt. They discussed files of mutual interest and cooperation.
“This attendance reflects the commitment of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and your commitment to strengthening Egyptian-Indian relations,” Modi added.
“I listened with interest to your positive opinions on ways to strengthen our common relations and made careful notes on your proposals. India, like you, is keen to maintain the historical relations between the two countries, and our country is committed to taking our common relations to a new level.”
Modi continued, “This is a distinguished year for our common relations. At the beginning of this year, President El-Sisi visited India as a guest of honor at the Republic Day celebration, where we signed an agreement to elevate the relations between the two countries to the level of strategic partnership.”
“Today, I am here, and in September, I will be honored to receive an invitation from President El-Sisi to attend the G20 meetings again,” Modi said.
Modi addressed the attendees, saying, “Some of you recently visited India, and here I would like to say that regular visits between the two sides will actively enhance bilateral relations with new enthusiasm.”
He confirmed that Egypt is an important partner for India, and despite the pandemic and global tensions, cooperation between the two countries is increasing in the economic field.
“We are moving forward quickly to achieve our common trade exchange targets worth $12 billion over the next 5 years,” he said.
Modi also explained that India is an important source of foreign investment for Egypt, as Indian companies invested around $170 million in Egypt in the last six months alone.
In this context, he added that the recent visit of the head of the Suez Canal Economic Zone to India was a successful visit, and he believes that this will encourage other Indian companies to come to Egypt, invest in it, and increase the levels of cooperation.
He also confirmed that the increasing cooperation between the two sides in the field of renewable energy reflects a mutual commitment to protecting the environment.
