Al Ahram Al Arabi (29 November 2008)

Important results of the historical visit of President Mubarak to India

Mr. A. Gopinathan, the Ambassador of India in Cairo, lauded the important results of the historical visit paid by President Mubarak to India. He referred to the fact that the leaders in both countries gave directives to their respective governments to boost relations in all fields especially in the field of investments. In a press conference held in Cairo, the Indian Ambassador said that the most important results of the talks between President Mubarak and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is establishing a mechanism for strategic dialogue at the level of foreign ministers of the two countries.

He added that talks between President Mubarak and the Indian Prime Minister touched on the conditions in the Middle East, South Asia and the international economic crisis as well as the energy crisis and terrorism. They agreed on cooperation to face such challenges.

He said that the talks resulted in signing five important agreements which are: Extradition treaty, abolition of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic passports, cooperation in the field of health and medicine, exploring outer space for peaceful purposes, an MOU for technical and commercial cooperation. As for the timeframe for implementing those agreements, Ambassador of India said that this depends on ratifying them and discussing them by both parties. He said that the Egyptian Indian commission which is planned to hold its meeting next year will address the technical and administrative issues related to those agreements.

He also confirmed that the topic of the piracy in the Gulf of Aden has taken up a large part of the talks between the leaders of the two countries. The Egyptian side briefed the Indian side on the joint cooperation between Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen in this regard. The Indian side also explained the measures taken by India to address this threat. However, confronting such a phenomenon requires collective international cooperation, the ambassador said.

As for establishing a special industrial zone for India in Egypt, the Indian Ambassador said that the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry proposed establishing such a zone and details will be discussed by concerned bodies in the two countries.