Swaraj had arrived in Cairo on Sunday and was received by India’s Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya.
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The foreign minister will first go to Egyptian capital Cairo where she will meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and hold talks with her counterpart Sameh Hassan Shoukry, sources said.
After holding talks with Swaraj, the Egyptian foreign minister said that her visit provided an opportunity to review the entire gamut of bilateral ties.
India and Egypt have enjoyed a history of close contact from ancient times.
“The President stated, and External Affairs Minister agreed with him, that it’s a query of encashing on the goodwill that the individuals of the 2 nations have with one another into one thing concrete on the bottom”. “We have been proactively engaging with all the stakeholders to address the concerns of our overseas community”, she said.
“Technical skills at a competitive cost have been an indispensable part of the local economy, I understand you employ almost 35,000 Egyptians and contribute significantly to the export earnings of Egypt. Although small in numbers, you are recognized as a successful and integrated community”, she added.
“The two sides will also discuss regional issues and the situations in countries like Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen”, Tageldin said.
The minister said there were new developments including the recent nuclear agreement with Iran which can open up new vistas of cooperation and reduce frictions.
Wooing the diaspora for greater investment in India, she said the India Business Forum (IBF) has been created as a platform to promote Brand India and leverage the business interests of all Indian companies here. “The greatness of India now has a stronger resonance and our circle of friends has grown”, Swaraj said at the gathering last evening.
The overall exchange of goods and services between the two countries was valued at around around 15.96 billion euros past year, a drop of 1.14 billion euros from the level of 16.10 billion euros registered in 2013.
Most importantly, India is the sixth largest trading partner of Egypt – the second largest export destination. “He stated Egypt and India must be working collectively visibly on problems with widespread pursuits to present to the world that we’re collectively on sure points”, Wadhwa stated.
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“We also have a very strong base in small and medium enterprises”.
