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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the 11th-century Al-Hakim Mosque, restored with the help of the Dawoodi Bohra community, during his first visit to Egypt this week. The Prime Minister will also visit the Heliopolis War Cemetery to pay homage to Indian soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice for Egypt during World War I.
Modi’s two-day state visit to Egypt from June 24 at the invitation of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister since 1997.
Before meeting el-Sisi, the Prime Minister will hold discussions with the India Unit, a group of high-level ministers formed by the Egyptian President to promote ties with India. Addressing a press conference here, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said that there has been a close ministerial engagement between India and Egypt, which is also home to a small Indian community.
Prime Minister Modi is also scheduled to interact with members of the Indian community in the North African country.
Kwatra said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav had recently visited Egypt.
“Similarly, at least three to four ministers of the Egyptian government have come to India,” he said, adding that the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority was on a visit to India.
Kwatra said that the high-level exchange clearly shows that both India and Egypt are very focused on strengthening all aspects of their relationship. Prime Minister Modi will meet President al-Sisi that day and will oversee the signing of various MoUs and agreements.
Kwatra said that Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shaki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam was on a visit to India last month.
The Foreign Secretary said that India has invited Egypt as a special guest during the G20 Presidency.
Quatra said PM Modi’s “very rapid reciprocity visit” to Egypt is coming within six months of President el-Sisi’s visit to India.
Kwatra said, “We are confident that Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Egypt will not only ensure continued momentum in relations between our two countries, but will also help expand trade and economic ties between our two countries into new areas. “
