Visit of Hon’ble Mr. Shivraj V. Patil, Minister of Home Affairs of India, to Egypt (5-9 January 2008)

H. E. Mr. Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, received Hon’ble Mr. Shivraj V. Patil, Minister of Home Affairs of India, at Sharm el Sheikh on 6 January.

During the call, Mr. Patil conveyed the greetings and good wishes of the President and the Prime Minister of India to President Mubarak and the friendly people of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Mr. Patil expressed appreciation of Egypt’s role and, in particular of the personal efforts made by H. E. Mr. Mohamed Hosni Mubarak to promote peace and stability in the region. Mr. Patil also lauded the visible progress made by Egypt under President Mubarak’s leadership and guidance. Mr. Patil reiterated the priority assigned by India to the traditional, deep-rooted relations with Egypt. Noting that India and Egypt faced similar challenges, Mr. Patil emphasized that his visit would lead to strengthened cooperation between the two countries.

President Mubarak noted with satisfaction the continuing high-level bilateral exchanges during the last one-year and the further consolidation and deepening of the Indo-Egyptian relationship in diverse fields of cooperation. President Mubarak expressed confidence that Mr. Patil’s visit would strengthen the contacts and promote better understanding.

President Mubarak and Hon’ble Mr. Patil had a detailed exchange of views on the international situation, in particular, developments in the region.

Hon’ble Mr. Patil reiterated the invitation from the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh to President Mubarak to visit India at an early and convenient date, and assured President Mubarak that Indian leaders were looking forward to his visit to India.

On 6 January evening, Mr. Patil called on His Excellency Mr. Amre Moussa, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States.

His Excellency Mr. Shivraj V. Patil, Minister of Home Affairs of India, was accorded an official welcome at the Ministry of Interior on 7 January evening. In the preliminary talks His Excellency Mr. Shivraj V. Patil and his Egyptian counterpart, His Excellency General Habib Ibrahim El Adly, Minister of Interior were in agreement that sustained bilateral engagement and cooperation between the Ministry of Home Affairs of India and the Ministry of Interior of Egypt would not only reinforce the existing multi-faceted relations between India and Egypt, but also facilitate better strategisation against the divisive, disruptive and violent challenges which the world faces. It was further agreed that such cooperation should include sharing of views and experience as also development/activation of operational mechanisms in regard to policing, internal security related matters and capacity-building. Both Ministers expressed satisfaction over the finalisation of the Agreements on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters as well as the Extradition Treaty. Mr. Patil invited General Habib Ibrahim El Adly to pay an official visit to India.

Following the talks, discussions were held between the official delegations of the Home Ministry of India and the Interior Ministry of Egypt, led by the respective Ministers. The delegation-level talks identified the specifics in regard to counter-terrorism, illegal trafficking of narcotics, money laundering, capacity building, technological aspects of security management and related priorities. It was decided to continue the dialogue with a view to imparting tangible shape and content to the ideas which were focussed upon by the Leaders of the two delegations.

On 8 January, Mr. Patil called on His Excellency Dr. Fathy Sorur, Speaker of the People’s Assembly of the Arab Republic of Egypt. In the evening, Mr. Patil met His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was followed by the signing of two significant instruments namely, the Agreements on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.

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