Egypt looking for Indian investment, regional security cooperation

Increasing bilateral investments, a greater role for India in regional security and stability and fighting terrorism are among the key issues that are likely to come up for discussion during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's visit to Egypt early next week.

"The visit of the Indian external affairs minister next week is a continuation of the historic relations between India and Egypt," Egypt's Ambassador to India, Hatem Tageldin, told IANS in an intervieew.

"The Arab region and India are among the biggest trade partners and trade between the two sides is worth around $180 billion," he said.

The ambassador said that Egypt is working on a number of mega projects from which Indian investors can benefit. "The New Suez Canal that was inaugurated on August 6 is one of them. We are planning to set up a special economic zone of around 500 sq km," he said.

He said there are already over 50 Indian investors in Egypt and there was around $3 billion of private Indian investment in the north African country.