India’s Ambassador and Egypt’s El Moselhy discuss expansion of bilateral trade

The Dollar Business Bureau

India’s Ambassador Sanjay Bhattacharya and Egypt’s Minister for Supply and Internal Trade Supply, Ali El Moselhy, met and discussed various ways to expand trade and reaffirmed that the bilateral relations between the two countries were ‘very strong’.

"Last year, India and Egypt had concluded a G to G (government to government) agreement for supply of rice to Egypt at a friendship price," India's Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya said. In May this year, Egypt contracted to import 20,000 tonnes of Indian rice though Egypt is a ‘traditional rice exporter’. According to United States Department of Agriculture, Egypt’s rice paddy production was estimated to be 5.1 million metric tonnes while its annual consumption is about 3.95 million metric tonnes.

The government to government meeting last year between the two countries reached a path-breaking development after several decades and was recognised in the joint statement given by Prime Minister Modi and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during Sisi’s visit to India last year, the Indian envoy recalled.

India is keen to expand the cooperation between the two countries to other commodities such as sugar, oils, wheat tea among others, Bhattacharya said.