Egypt's Sisi gives highest honour to India's Modi during 'historic' visit

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi has bestowed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Egypt’s highest honour as the two countries tightened their partnership.

Sisi welcomed Modi at the presidential palace in Cairo with the Order of the Nile, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement on Sunday.

The leaders signed a declaration elevating Egyptian-Indo ties to a “strategic partnership,” which means the two nations agreed to intensify their cooperation and hold periodic talks, the statement said.

Modi’s trip to Egypt has focused on strengthening bilateral ties. The prime minister said both countries have been moving swiftly to increase bilateral trade to $12 billion annually within five years — that’s up from $7.3 billion in 2021-22.

“My visit to Egypt was a historic one. It will add renewed vigour to India-Egypt relations and will benefit the people of our nations,” Modi wrote on Twitter.

Modi also invited the Egyptian leader to attend a summit of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing countries, which India will host in September.

Sharing deep ties

Modi, who arrived in Cairo on Saturday, is the first Indian prime minister to pay a state visit to Egypt in more than two decades. His two-day stop came six months after Sisi was in New Delhi as an official guest on India’s Independence Day.

Earlier this year, both countries agreed to boost trade cooperation. India, the world’s most populous country, is one of the top five importers of Egyptian products, including crude oil and liquefied natural gas, salt, cotton, inorganic chemicals, and oilseeds.

Major Indian exports to Egypt include cotton yarn, coffee, herbs, tobacco, lentils, vehicle parts, ships, boats, and electrical machinery.

Egypt and India share deep ties that date back to the 1950s when they played key roles in founding the Non-Aligned Movement, which had sought an alternative path at the height of the Cold War.

Sisi and Modi, who came to power in their counties in 2014, have in recent years cultivated a closer relationship.

Over the last 16 months, they resisted pressure from the West to condemn the Russian incursion into Ukraine. Both Egypt and India have decades-old ties with the Kremlin.