India s Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly in Cairo Saturday 24 June, 2023. Photo courtesy of India s Prime Minister Narendra Modi Twitter account.
After arriving, the Indian prime minister expressed his confidence that the trip will strengthen the two countries' relationship, saying he looks forward to meeting President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
This is Modi's first-ever visit to Egypt, which came following an invitation from El-Sisi.
Modi also thanked his Egyptian counterpart for welcoming him at the airport.
The Indian prime minister tweeted the messages in both English and Arabic, after arriving from a visit to the United States.
Members of the Indian community in Egypt also received the prime minister at the airport.
According to previous statements by the Indian embassy in Cairo, there are 3,600 Indians living in Egypt. Most are located in Cairo while the rest are in Alexandria and in Port Said.
First visit by PM since 1997
Modi’s visit to Cairo will give new momentum to the multifaceted relationship between the two countries, Indian Ambassador in Cairo Ajit Gupte told Egypt’s official news agency MENA on Saturday.
During his two-day visit, Modi will meet with senior Egyptian officials, as well as the Indian community in Cairo, the ambassador revealed.
This visit comes in light of the unprecedented boom in relations between Cairo and New Delhi at all levels since El-Sisi assumed leadership of the country in 2014, he added.
The last visit of an Indian prime minister to Egypt was in 1997, Gupte pointed out.
The relationship was upgraded to the level of a “strategic partnership" in January during El-Sisi’s visit to New Delhi.
During the January visit, El-Sisi and Modi announced they would increase bilateral trade to $12 billion in the next five years.
The value of trade between Egypt and India has increased to $6 billion during the year 2022, compared to $5.3 billion in 2021, an increase of 13.7 percent, according to a statement from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) on Saturday.
According to CAPMAS, the value of Indian investments in Egypt reached $33.1 million during the first half of fiscal year 2022/2023, compared to $24.2 million during the same period of FY2021/2022, an increase of 36.8 percent.
Around 50 Indian companies operating in Egypt provide direct employment to approximately 38,000 Egyptians, according to the Indian embassy in Cairo.
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