Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as Republic Day chief guest: India, Egypt make up for lost time, seek strategic convergence

As President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi touches down in Delhi on 24 January, invited to be the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day Parade on 26 January, there is history in the making. This is the first time that the President of Egypt will be the Chief Guest on our Republic Day. He will also be only the second leader to be invited from the Arab countries during Prime Minister Modi’s government of the last nine years, after Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade in 2017. Republic Day Parade of India traditionally has been indicative of the importance that India places on a nation, and Egypt’s name clearly signifies it. Incidentally, the preceding year 2022 too was of particular significance since it marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Egypt, both countries having established formal diplomatic relations on 18 August 1947. Relations with Egypt, however, could not be sustained on a positive trajectory for all the years. Both countries started off strong as the freedom movement of both countries shared common goals, led by Mahatma Gandhi and Saad Zaghloul. The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) resulted from very close relations between Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and a shared vision to create an independent space in the world order, distant from the two camps led by the US and USSR. Unfortunately, India-Egypt relations could not sustain this understanding and momentum for long, especially after Anwar Sadat became Egypt’s president. With Sadat choosing to align with the US and India ideologically aligned with the USSR during the cold war period, the relations remained at a low key. Improvement in ties Bilateral ties remained low-key for decades until November 2008, when Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak visited India. There was a realization that the bilateral ties have suffered for long due to mutual neglect and that time was ripe to enhance the ties. In order to give a boost to the ties, both sides agreed to enhance the engagement in all fields and even decided to establish a Strategic and Security Policy Dialogue at the level of foreign ministers. Despite this, there was not much traction till 2014, when coincidently, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came to power, winning elections. Very soon thereafter, then external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj visited Egypt in August 2015 when the two sides decided to scale up security and counter-terror cooperation. It was soon followed by President Sisi coming to Delhi for the 3rd India-Africa Summit in October 2015. In September 2016, President Sisi was back in India, this time on a state visit, setting the tone for an enhanced engagement and closer cooperation. Joint Statement issued during the visit outlined three pillars. Political-security cooperation, economic engagement and scientific collaboration and cultural and people-people ties as the basis of bilateral partnership. Both Prime Minister Modi and President Sisi have thereafter met a number of times exchanging notes on regional issues and seeking closer cooperation. During Covid-19, India came to Egypt’s help and supplied vaccines as well. Defence and security On the defence and security front too, there has been a significant jump in bilateral engagement since 2015 including reciprocal visits like that of the Minister of Defence of Egypt, General Sedki Sobhi in 2017 and the visit of our then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in 2018. In February 2021, the Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Minister of Defence and Military Production, General Mohamed Ahmed Zaki, participated in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) Defence Ministers Conclave at Bengaluru. The first ever IAF-EAF Joint Tactical Air Exercise, Dessert Warrior, was held from 29-31 October 2021 and soon thereafter, India’s Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari visited Egypt in November-December 2021. The MoU on defence cooperation signed during the visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Egypt in September 2022 perhaps is the most significant achievement in this field as it aims to formalise bilateral defence cooperation and explore areas for partnership in defence production and setting up defence industries. Egypt has also indicated an interest in India’s Tejas fighter aircraft and Dhruv light attack helicopters, a key component of India’s ‘Atmanirbhar’ campaign. Trade and culture Egypt has traditionally been one of India’s most important trading partners in the African continent. The India-Egypt Bilateral Trade Agreement has been in operation since March 1978 and is based on the Most Favoured Nation clause. The bilateral trade too has been growing and was pegged at $7 billion in the year 2020-21, an increase of almost 75 per cent from the previous year. According to the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), India was the third-largest export market for Egypt, the sixth-largest trading partner and the seventh-largest exporter to Egypt. The Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aden are key routes of trade for India. About 20-24 Indian-flagged merchant ships transit the Gulf of Aden every month. Threatened with a shortage of wheat due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Egyptian cabinet on 14 April 2022, announced the inclusion of India in the list of accredited countries which can supply wheat to Egypt, thus ending a long pending Non-Tariff Barrier. Promptly, an initial shipment of 61,500 metric tons of wheat was cleared by India for Egypt on 17 May 2022. Culture is yet another key factor which ties both countries together. The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC) was set up in Cairo in 1992 to promote cultural cooperation. India has the world’s third-largest Muslim population and the world’s largest Muslim population in terms of the minority population. Of the Muslims in India, the Sunni sect forms the majority. Egypt’s Al Azhar University and Mosque are considered leading theological voices in the region and are an important influence on Muslims of India too. Bollywood movies are extremely popular in Egypt, contributing to strong people-to-people connect. Egypt’s re-emergence in the region However, one of the most important factors which is drawing India towards greater engagement with Egypt in recent times is Egypt’s re-emergence as a power of reckoning in the region, especially after the brief but significantly turbulent period during the ‘Arab Spring’. Straddling three continents; Asia, Africa and Europe (across the Mediterranean Sea), Egypt is a key nation of the Arab world and the leading voice of the African continent. It has the largest population in the region over 110 million and has traditionally played a central role in regional politics for decades. It was the first nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 and plays a pivotal role in managing and resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict. After coming to power, President Sisi has made regional cooperation a priority which has resulted in marked improvement in relations with nations in the region. Egypt-Saudi Arabia relations are on a positive trajectory. Both signed an agreement to set up a 60 billion Saudi riyal investment fund in Egypt including an economic free zone to develop Egypt’s Sinai region. Saudi Arabia also announced its commitment to construct a bridge across the Red Sea to link Egypt while Egypt transferred sovereignty of its two islands Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. Egypt plays a key role in Libya too, having extended support to the former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha to form a new government in Libya, based out of Tobruk, much to the dismay and annoyance of Turkey which supports the rival faction in Tripoli. Egypt has maintained regular contact with Iran and media reports suggest that its relations with Qatar too are on the mend. With UAE, it has maintained good relations and both countries celebrated 50 years of relations in Cairo in October 2022 where Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammed Abdullah Al-Gergawi attended the celebrations held under the slogan “ Egypt and the UAE are one heart.” Most recently, on 18 January 2023, the UAE president hosted regional leaders including President Sisi, in a further push for regional integration. The recent gas finds in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and Egypt’s claim to it has added a new dimension to Egypt’s importance in the region. The year 2022 saw a succession of new gas discoveries in Israel, Cyprus, and Egypt, including one of the region’s biggest finds at Egypt’s Zohr field. In addition, Egypt also possesses one of the largest and most well-equipped armed forces in the region and the 10th largest army in the world. Egypt’s importance to the region is therefore undeniable. Strategic convergence India has already established a comprehensive strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia and UAE in the region. With Israel, India’s relations have been unique and independent of Israel-Arab equations in the region. With Iran too, India, ties which were kept under the radar for long, there are signs of expanding ties. Egypt’s importance to the West Asian region and therefore to India, as part of its ‘West Asia policy’ is too important to be ignored for long. As India seeks to expand its economic and strategic interests in the Gulf region and Africa and further strengthen its ‘Look West’ policy, peace and stability in the region are important and Egypt forms an important vector in this equation. It may not be a signatory of the Abraham Accords or the I2U2 grouping comprising India, Israel, US and the UAE but its strategic significance in the region cannot be ignored. It is perhaps a testimony to this that Egypt is one of the few select countries invited as ‘guest countries’ by India during its G20 presidency this year. With Egypt being the ‘Gateway to Africa’ for India and a vital partner in the region, it is perhaps the right time to add Egypt to the very privileged list of nations to forge a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’. The author is Assistant Director, MP-IDSA. Views expressed are personal. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.