Why in news?

• PM Modi left for India after concluding his first-ever visit to Egypt where he held talks with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

What’s in today’s article?

• Why have India and Egypt rekindled their ties with each other?
• Key highlights of the visit

Why have India and Egypt rekindled their ties with each other?

Imperative for India

• Push to engage the Global South
  • Indian government is pushing hard to engage the Global South.
• Rekindling of the principles of non-alignment
  • India also wants to rekindle the principles of non-alignment that have come back to the fore during Russia – Ukraine war.
• Strategic weight of Egypt
  • With a population of almost 110 million, Egypt is situated at a location that straddles Africa and Asia.
  • It has a standing army that is the largest in the region, a capital that hosts the League of Arab States and a diplomatic presence that punches above its weight in global affairs.
  • India is keen on further expanding its ties with Egypt, a key player in the politics of both the Arab world as well as Africa.
• Economic importance of Egypt
  • Egypt has boosted its attractiveness through a series of free trade agreements that span Africa (ACFTA; AGADIR; COMESA), Europe (EFTA), Latin America (MERCOSUR) and the Arab world (GAFTA).
  • It is also seen as a major gateway to markets in Africa and Europe.
• Egypt’s plans to develop the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) into a global manufacturing hub
  • The ambitious plans to develop the Suez Canal Economic Zone into a global manufacturing hub are now gathering critical mass.
  • SCZONE sits astride both banks of the Suez Canal, a strategic waterway that connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea to provide the shortest link between European and Asian markets.
  • China, as usual, has been the first to take advantage of the opportunities presented by SCZONE.
    • China views SCZONE as a vital part of its Belt & Road and Maritime Silk Road projects.
  • A deeper economic engagement with Egypt therefore acquires an additional strategic imperative.
• Resetting India’s ties with Muslim-majority countries
  • India’s ties with Muslim-majority countries were tested following controversial remarks made by then spokesperson of ruling party in June 2022.
  • That Egypt was one of the few countries from the Arab world which did not react officially to the controversial remarks.
• Other factors
  • India wants to draw huge amounts of capital from Gulf nations, curtail religious extremism by supporting moderate countries in the region and participate in the security politics of the area.
  • In order to do all this, India has realised that Egypt is a key player.
    • The country has remained fairly moderate over the years.
    • It shares strong ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
    • It is located at a crucial geo-strategic location — 12 per cent of global trade passes through the Suez Canal.

Imperative for Egypt

• Cairo wants India’s help to tackle its battered economy.
• The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the implications of the Russia and Ukraine war has worsened its financial woes.
• Inflation in the country is at a five-year high of over 30 per cent and it has approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the fourth time in six years for a bailout.

Key highlights of the visit

• Order of the Nile award to PM Modi
  • Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi conferred Modi with ‘Order of the Nile’ award, the country’s highest state honour.
    • This is the 13th such state honour that several countries have conferred upon PM Modi.
  • MoUs/Agreements signed
    • An agreement to elevate the bilateral relationship to a "Strategic Partnership" was signed by the two leaders.
    • Three MoUs in the fields of Agriculture, Archaeology & Antiquities and Competition Law were also signed.
  • PM Modi extended an invitation to the (Egypt) President for the G20 Summit upcoming in September 2023.
  • PM Modi visited the historic 11th-century Al-Hakim Mosque in Cairo
    • Al-Hakim Mosque was restored with the help of India’s Dawoodi Bohra community.
      • The Dawoodi Bohra Muslims are a sect of followers of Islam who adhere to the Fatimi Ismaili Tayyibi school of thought.
      • They are known to have originated from Egypt and later shifted to Yemen, before establishing a presence in India in the 11th century.
      • They renovated the mosque from 1970 onwards and have been maintaining it since then.
    • The historic Mosque has been named after Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the 16th Fatimid caliph and is an important religious and cultural site for the Dawoodi Bohra community.
  • PM visits Heliopolis War Cemetery in Cairo to pay respects to Indian soldiers who laid down their lives during World War I.