Indian Ambassador to Egypt Ajit Gupte lauded the historical ties between the two countries, asserting that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's visits to India in 2015 and 2016 gave further impetus to bilateral relations.

Gupte's remarks came in a statement that he delivered on Tuesday evening in a celebration held by the Indian Embassy in Cairo to mark the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between India and Egypt at the Grand Nile Tower Hotel, Garden City in Cairo.

Ambassador Gupte disclosed that his country cooperates with Egypt in the field of climate change, noting that a large Indian delegation will take part in the UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27) scheduled for November in the seaside city of Sharm El-Sheikh.

The celebration was attended by Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Salah Abdel-Sadeq, Vice President of Cairo Chamber of Commerce Sameh Zaki, and MENA Editor-in-Chief and Board Chairman Ali Hassan, Egypt's former ambassador to India Gillan Allam, Dr. Naimaa Al-Kassier, representative of the World Health Organisation, Secretary-General of Egypt-India Friendship Association Hany Fouad, as well as a galaxy of media personalities and businessmen.

The Indian ambassador shed light on exchanged visits between the two countries' officials in the past few years, notably the visit of former Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to Egypt in 2015 and the visit of her Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry to India in 2018.

He also highlighted phone calls between President El-Sisi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the coronavirus, as the two leaders expressed mutual solidarity in fighting the pandemic through cooperation.

Gupte expected that the political, economic and cultural relations between India and Egypt would see significant progress in the near future.

Regarding the advanced economic ties, he said, "the volume of trade exchange between India and Egypt increased by 75 percent in 2021/2022 to reach $7.26 billion."

In this regard, he stated that around 50 Indian companies are working in Egypt with total investments of $3 billion in the sectors of clothing, agriculture, chemicals, energy, automotive, and retail trade.

Gupte explained that these companies provide direct jobs for nearly 38,000 Egyptians.

He added that Indian businesses seek to inject additional investments worth $700 million in the Egyptian market, as several Indian firms showed interest in green hydrogen and green ammonia ventures, citing the recent memorandum of understanding signed by Renew-Power company to invest around $8 billion in this source of clean energy.

He noticed that India and Egypt have planned a number of artistic events to make this occasion memorable, including the next edition of India by The Nile festival in October 2022. The festival will feature various classical Indian dance shows, together with a mix of Indian cuisine and Yoga workshops among other functions. 

Abdel-Sadeq commended the depth of Egyptian-Indian relations, which he described as a model for international ties.

##

The event featured a thrilling photography exhibition on the deep and old historical ties between Egypt and India, depicting photos of Mahatma Gandhi and late Egyptian leader Saad Zaghloul, who shared common goals on the independence of their countries. Other photos showed the exceptionally close friendship between late president Gamal Abdel-Nasser and prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru who led to the foundation of the Non-Aligned Movement.

##

The grand finale was a number of Indian dance shows performed by Egyptian dancers who received their training at the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture.