Sisi to undertake 'landmark' India visit from September 1

PTI

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi will undertake a landmark visit to India from September 1 during which he will hold talks with the top Indian leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on key issues like terrorism and deepening economic engagement.

Announcing the three-day visit today, the Ministry of External Affairs said Sisi will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising of Ministers, Officials and business leaders.

Sisi will also discuss ways to give fresh momentum to the already strong partnership between the two countries.

During the visit, which comes at the invitation of President Pranab Mukherjee, Sisi will meet Prime Minister Modi, Vice President Hamid Ansari and a host of other leaders.

President Sisi's visit will be a landmark and it will give further momentum to the already strong partnership between the two countries, India's Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya told PTI in Cairo.

The bilateral relations between the two countries have three pillars which are political, economic and cultural exchanges and the discussions during the visit would cover those three areas, Bhattacharyya said.

Prior to the Egyptian President's visit, a lot of preparatory work has been done, the envoy said. Also, the joint business council will take place just before the presidential visit, he said.

"There are also new Indian investments in Egypt as we seek to expand our economic engagement. We inaugurated recently a vocational training centre here and we are looking forward to start our next development project which is a centre of excellence in information technology at Al-Azhar University," Bhattacharyya said.

During the visit, the President is expected to meet business leaders from India and Egypt.

India and Egypt enjoy excellent relations marked by strong, traditional and civilizational ties that contribute towards peace and development in the world.

Both countries also have a strong economic relationship as India is Egypt's sixth largest trading partner and there is an active cooperation between the two countries in various fields.