Egypt's Finance Minister to visit India for joint committee meeting on bilateral relations

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will be in New Delhi on Wednesday for the seventh session of the Egypt-India joint committee on bilateral relations.

During his visit, Shoukry will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and deliver a message from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi concerning ways to boost bilateral relations.

Shoukry will lead the Egyptian delegation during the session which will begin its meetings on Thursday at the level of senior officials and then at the ministerial level on March 23.

During his visit, the minister will discuss bilateral relations between the two countries and ways of developing them in all fields, as well as regional and international issues of common concern.

Egypt is keen to develop cooperation with India in all fields within the framework of historical relations between the two countries.

This has been reflected in visits and meetings between the Egyptian president and Modi since 2015, as well as joint coordination between the two countries in international forums, according to Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesperson of Egypt's ministry of foreign affairs.

Abu Zeid added that the economic cooperation between the two countries is particularly important as the total Indian investment in Egypt exceeds USD 3 billion while the volume of trade between the two countries exceeded USD 2 billion in 2017.

He also mentioned the strong cultural cooperation between both countries. 

During the visit, the minister will participate in the economic forum organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with the Egyptian commercial office in New Delhi.

Shoukry is expected to deliver a lecture at a policy research centre in New Delhi during which he will discuss Egypt's vision of several regional and international developments, and he will also hold discussions with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj.