Egyptian president starts India visit, likely to meet Kerry

India will raise its concern about the issue of Organizers of the Islamic Conference (OIC) stance on Jammu and Kashmir with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi as Egypt is one of the main members of the Islamic countries forum.

Trade between the two countries reached $4.76 billion in the past year, making India Egypt’s sixth-largest trading partner, according to India’s External Affairs Ministry. India’s imports from Egypt were worth United States dollars 1.74 billion during 2014-15. He also expressed appreciation for India’s recent supply of 20,000 tonnes of rice, at very short notice, when Egypt was facing shortage of the commodity. She said, apart from rice, Egypt could import wheat and milk, in both of which India was a world leader.

Since al-Sisi came to power in 2014, however, bilateral ties appear to have warmed considerably.

The discussions will address promoting mutual ties between both countries in all fields as well as boosting economic cooperation and investment, hoping to raise the trade volume between the two countries, which now stands at $4 billion annually. In particular, he urged strong collective action against radicalisation and recruitment for terrorism, official sources said. The two leaders also discussed cooperation in tourism and enhancing people-to-people ties. During the visit, the President is expected to hold talks with top Indian leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on issues of terrorism and deepening economic engagements. The Egyptian President will be hosted for a banquet by President Mukherjee later in the evening.