India, Egypt decide to step up ties
India and Egypt reviewed the entire gamut of their bilateral relations at the sixth session of the Egypt-India Joint Commission Meeting in Cairo today and signed four documents on stepping up cooperation in various areas.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said at a joint media interaction with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr, with whom he co-chaired the meeting, that their discussions were "very useful and productive".
He said they had accepted the recommendations of four sub-committees on Trade & Economic Co-operation, Scientific & Technical Co-operation, Cultural Co-operation and Information Technology on strengthening bilateral relations in these sectors.
The four documents signed by the two sides today included a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the field of Environment Protection, Cultural Exchange Programme for the years 2012-15, Work Plan for Agricultural Cooperation between Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Agricultural Research Centre of Egypt for the year 2012-13 and an MoU between the Egyptian Organisation for Standardisation and the Bureau of Indian Standards.
Yesterday, the two Ministers unveiled a portrait of Rabindranath Tagore, renowned litterateur and the first Asian to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, at the House of Poetry.
"I was very happy to know that Tagore is the first non-Arab poet whose portrait has been installed at the House of Poetry," Krishna said.
This morning, Krishna met Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal El Ganzoury, who suggested that a multisectoral Indian delegation with representatives from both private and public sectors visit Egypt to focus on concrete areas of economic cooperation.
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"I have welcomed this proposal and requested the Egyptian side to identify specific sectors of their interest so that we can take the proposal forward. We hope that this delegation will visit Egypt shortly for focussed and productive discussions," he said.
Krishna also met Arab League Secretary General Nabil El Araby. India and the Arab League have been holding regular political consultations since the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation in 2008. The first meeting of the High Level Joint Committee of Arab-India Cooperation Forum was held in Cairo last week.
"India has a robust cooperation arrangement with Arab countries and particularly with Arab League. Arab world and India share civilisational links, common cultural values and political beliefs and enjoy strong economic ties. With these activities, we propose to strengthen India-Arab cooperation further," he said.
Krishna pointed out that India-Egypt relations are over five millennium years old. "In modern times, our relations were soundly founded on shared ideology and common beliefs. India has always viewed Egypt as a stabilising factor in the region and in the world. Egypt has consistently played a vital role in the Non-Aligned Movement and championed the cause of the developing world. Our bilateral relations constitute a factor of peace and stability in international relations," he said.
He said the leaderships of the two countries maintain close contact through regular Ministerial visits and exchanges at the highest level.
"Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s visit in 2009 for the NAM summit was followed by visits of a number of Ministerial delegations to Egypt. Our bilateral trade of $ 3 billion last year is promising to grow in the coming years. Indian investment of $ 2.5 billion is generating employment for 30,000 Egyptians. None of the Indian companies who had invested in Egypt have left the country after the Revolution. In fact, one more Indian factory has been established in Ain Sukhna," he added.