Al Ahram, p.6, (15/11/2008)

India is looking forward to the visit of President Mubarak and his receiving of Nehru Award for Peace

By: Sayed El Nashar,

MENA correspondent, from New Delhi

Indian government and people are looking forward to the historic visit to be paid by President Mubarak to India starting tomorrow till November 19^th due to the weight of Egypt in the Middle East and Africa.

There are historical ties connecting the peoples of the two countries that put them both in the same crucible during the resistance of foreign occupation and struggle for independence. Both countries had common goals and principles related to the desire to get independence from Britain and maintain the unity of all sects in Egypt and India.

With the advent of 1952 revolution, the ties between Egypt and India became stronger. A strong friendship emerged between Gamal Abdel Nasser and Jawaharlal Nehru which crystallized during Bandung summit in 1955. Nasser and Nehru adopted the same principle of non alignment in their foreign policies. Moreover, India stood beside Egypt in all the phases of its struggle.

When the tripartite aggression took place, India supported Egypt and Nehru threatened of India’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth. When the 1967 aggression took place, India supported Egypt and the Arabs in their struggle against Israel and called for the return of the usurped Arab lands. India also supported the peace initiative of President Sadat and described his visit to Jerusalem in 1977 as brave and positive.

Mubarak and Nehru Peace Award

Preparations are underway inside the Indian government offices and media circles for this important event. President Mubarak will receive Nehru Award for Peace and International Understanding conferred on him by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in appreciation of his role in establishing peace. This award is considered the highest Indian award given to a foreign leader as India values President Mubarak highly.

During his visit to India, President Mubarak will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising a number of Ministers and businessmen. The visit comes at a time when bilateral ties between the countries are witnessing development on all political, economic, scientific, cultural and social levels. The last visit paid by Mubarak to India was in 1983 and it was on the sidelines of the NAM Summit held during Indira Ghandi’s premiership.

There is no doubt that the imminent visit of President Mubarak to India will upgrade the Egyptian-Indian relations and will lead to closer ties and political coordination regarding all international issues of mutual concern. It will also open new horizons for economic and investment cooperation between the two countries.

Due to the importance of India on the international level, Egypt is seeking to enhance coordination with it in all multilateral issues including the reform of the UN, international terrorism, the desire of Egypt to have closer contacts with the BRIC comprising Brazil Russia, India, China and the IBSA that comprises India, Brazil and South Africa.

Mutual respect

Mutual respect characterizes the Egyptian-Indian ties. Each party highly appreciates the regional and international weight of the other. Both countries are also keen on coordinating their stances regarding international issues of mutual concern.

They seek to enhance all bilateral ties including the economic and commercial ties and make use of all prospects of economic cooperation in view of the economic liberalization and development policy adopted by both countries as well as their continuous cooperation through their membership in a number of international economic groupings including the ASEAN, NAM, G8, G15 and G22.

Volume of trade exchange reached $ 4 billion

On the economic level, the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and India reached about $ 4 billion with the end of this year. The balance of trade is in favour of Egypt. India ranks fourth among Egypt’s trade partners next only to the US, Italy and Saudi Arabia.

The Indian direct investments in Egypt have reached about $ 400 million. India ranks 12 among the foreign investors in Egypt. There are 70 Indian companies operating in Egypt. It is predicted that the volume of Indian investments would exceed $1 billion during the current year. This increase would result from the keenness of the Indian businessmen to invest in Egypt. 

Statistics indicated that the number of the Indian projects in Egypt reached 73 projects with a capital estimated at $ 568 million. The Indian projects in the free zone regions reached 18 with a total capital of $ 282.3 million. The majority of the Indian projects are established in the fields of petrochemicals, engineering industries, Information Technology, textiles, synthetic fibres, paints, pharmaceuticals, vehicles and its components, cosmetics, tourism and hotels.

In the field of future investments, Egypt is considered a destination that is attracting foreign investments due to the economic stability, security, and investment advantages it enjoys. There are several proposals by the Indian side to implement huge projects to increase their investments in Egypt. The Egyptian side is seriously considering those proposals. The concerned authorities are working on facilitating the issuance of the required licenses to establish such projects and providing the energy sources needed whether oil, natural gas, or electricity.

The Indian CII has close contacts with its Egyptian counterpart. CII organised an exhibition entitled "Made in India" in Cairo during the period from 20 to 23 November. The exhibition coincided with a visit paid to Egypt by a 20-member delegation comprising CEOs of Indian companies.

The delegation met with Dr. Yousif Botros Ghali, the Minister of Finance, Mr. Amin Abaza, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Mr. Ahmad El Maghrabi, Minister of Housing and Urban Communities.

The representatives of the Indian companies held discussions with members of the Egyptian Businessmen Association, Egyptian Federation of Industries and the Egyptian-Indian Joint Business Group. The CII signed an MOU with the Egyptian Federation of Industries for boosting cooperation between the two sides.

India regularly participates in the annual Cairo International Fair. 40 Indian companies participated in the Cairo International Fair held in March 2008. During MACTEC, held in November 2006, the Indian Engineering Exports Promotion Council had a pavilion in the exhibition in which more than one hundred Indian companies showcased their products.

It is planned that those companies will participate during the current month in MACTEC which will be held in Cairo during the current month. The Indian Textiles Exports Council also organized an exhibition in Cairo in November 2007.

Cooperation in the field of information technology and telecommunications

Egypt and India signed in July 2006 three agreements in the fields of information technology and telecommunications during the visit of Dr. Tarek Kamel, Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology, to India.

The first agreement stipulates: "setting up bases and framework of cooperation between the National Institute of Telecommunications and CMC India, one of the major companies working in the field of information Technology integrated solutions." Its activities include education and training, research and development, investment services, and entering into African and Arab markets.

Information Technology Institute signed an agreement with NIT, one of the major training IT institutes in India that ranks fifth in the world.

TCIL India, signed an MOU with the Egyptian Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology in December 2007 for establishing the African electronic network. In February 2008, a 30-member delegation comprising officials from the Egyptian Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology, representatives of Information Technology visited India to attend India leadership forum 2008 organized by NASCOM in Mumbai.

The Indian tourists in Egypt

The number of Indian tourists coming to Egypt witnessed a remarkable increase during the past three months. The number of Indian tourists in 2008 reached 110000 with an increase of 20% over the past year. One of the factors that would lead to the increase of the number of tourists coming to Egypt is increasing the number of flights of Egypt Air running between Cairo and India; currently Egypt Air runs three weekly flights to Mumbai. It is also necessary to initiate the direct Cairo-New Delhi flight as per an agreement signed by the two sides in December 2006.