India and Egypt on Sunday signed an agreement to elevate the bilateral relationship to a “strategic partnership” during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden visit to the north African country.
The agreement was signed during Modi’s meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in Cairo on Sunday morning.
This was the second bilateral engagement at the leadership level this year with Sisi having visited India in January to be the chief guest at the Republic Day Parade when the two sides first decided to elevate the relationship.
The agreement was billed as a “landmark” development in the history of India-Egypt ties. The quick reciprocal visit to Egypt within six months of Sisi travelling to India is being seen as a new momentum in the bilateral relationship that has always been strong.
Sisi also conferred Egypt’s highest civilian award, the Order of the Nile, on the Prime Minister.
On Saturday, soon after landing in Cairo, the Prime Minister met Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam and the two discussed how India and Egypt can partner in countering extremist ideology and prevent radicalisation of the youth, foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said while briefing the media shortly before the entourage began its flight back home.
