Press Release No. 88
16 December 2006
On the visit of H. E. Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Foreign Minister of Egypt, to India
(15- 17 December, 2006)
As part of the ongoing exchanges to strengthen bilateral cooperation between India and the Arab Republic of Egypt, His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Foreign Minister of Egypt, paid an official visit to India. His programme included meetings with His Excellency Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of External Affairs. His delegation included senior officials of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Ministries of the Government of Egypt. He met a cross-section of Indian businessmen at an interaction arranged by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
2. During the visit, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit handed over a written message addressed to Hon’ble Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, from H.E. Mr. Muhammad Hosni Mubarak, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
3. Mr. Gheit and Shri Mukherjee co-chaired the 5th session of the India-Egypt Joint Commission on 16th December. The wide-ranging discussions were held in a friendly atmosphere and both sides exchanged views on various bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.
4. Both sides noted with considerable satisfaction the warm and friendly relations between India and the Arab Republic of Egypt. They recalled their partnership in the foundation of Non-Aligned Movement; struggle against colonialism and racial discrimination and in the struggle for preserving the independence and sovereignty of nations emerging from the colonial yoke. They reiterated their desire to further strengthen the close and friendly ties between the two peoples and to provide a strong impetus to enhance bilateral cooperation.
5. A number of agreements were signed between the two sides. These included the Partnership Agreement; Executive Programme under the Agreement on Cultural Cooperation; Executive Programme under the Agreement on Cooperation in Science and Technology; the Work Plan under the Agreement on Cooperation in Agriculture; and MoU on bilateral air services.
6. Mr. Gheit and Shri Mukherjee recognised the immense potential for enhancing bilateral cooperation between India and Egypt. The two sides reiterated their commitment to diversify and deepen the scope of their economic, trade and cultural exchanges. They identified the promotion of investment flows, as a means to strengthen bilateral commercial exchanges in this day and age of globalization/economic diplomacy.
7. The two sides took note, with satisfaction of the increasing exchange of visits between officials and businessmen of the two countries. In particular, they welcomed the visit by the Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Egypt to India from 27 November to 02 December, 2006 during which a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the field of Information Technology was signed with the Minister of Communications Information Technology of India and several agreements were signed between training institutions in India and Egypt in the field of Information and Technology.
8. The two sides also took note of the visit of Minister of State for Administrative Development of the Government of Egypt to India from 07-11 December, 2006 during which specific areas of cooperation were identified with Indian institutions in the field of Administrative modernization and e-government.
9. The two sides exchanged views on the situation in West Asia/Middle East. India reiterated its consistent support for the Palestinian cause and called for early resumption of negotiations under the Middle East Peace Process. Both sides agreed that use of excessive force and violence would not lead to peace in the region, which requires sustained and substantial negotiations among the parties.
10. Mr. Gheit invited Shri Mukherjee to
visit Egypt. The invitation was accepted with pleasure.
11. On behalf of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mr. Gheit expressed sincere appreciation to the Government of India for the warm hospitality extended to him and the accompanying delegation.
Ministry of External Affairs
Government of India,
New Delhi
16 December 2006
*****