President El-Sisi visits as R-Day chief guest, Egypt remains Delhi’s indispensable Afro-Arab ally

Egypt’s dual identity as an Afro-Arab nation makes Cairo an indispensable ally of India in West Asia, Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Red Sea, according to Mohammed Soliman, a strategist who conceptualised the "Indo-Abrahamic" framework.

"As a rising global power, Delhi should build strong bilateral relations with regional powers beyond South Asia— chief among them Cairo," Soliman, the intellectual architect of I2U2 and director of the Strategic Technologies and Cyber Security Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington told WION.

Soliman underscored that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi'svisit to India is likely to produce a roadmap for bilateral relations and set the tone for cooperation in areas from “pharma to military industries and from food security to information technology.”

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Egypt is a significant gateway to markets in Africa and Europe. According to India's Ministry of External Affairs, bilateral trade reached a record high of $7.26 billion in 2021–22.

Onthe trade prospects, Soliman said, “Egypt is very open to Indian investment, given the historical relations between the two countries and Egypt’s appreciation of India’s global role.”

This is the first time that an Egyptian president has been invited as chief guest for the Republic Day event. Under former Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, relations between India and Egypt improved, particularly following India's support for Egypt during the 1956 Suez Crisis.

Soliman pointed out that "the India-Egypt alignment is consequential for regional integration in West Asia."

Earlier, President Sisi expressed sympathy and solidarity with India during the second wave of Covid-19on April 30, 2021.On May 9, 2021, Egypt sent three aircraft carrying medical supplies to India. Egypt, which is struggling to get wheat since its main suppliers Russia and Ukraine areat war, wants to purchase the grain from India.

India had banned the sale of wheat to other nations but permitted the export of 61,000 tonnes to Egypt in May last year. But given the shortages, the nation needs more grains.

MEA in a statement earlier said that the visit will "further strengthen and deepen the time-tested partnership between India and Egypt."

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