Egypt's Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Sherif Farouk met with Secretary of India's Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Nidhi Khare on the sidelines of the UNCTAD conference in Geneva, held from July 6 to 11, 2025. The meeting explored areas of potential cooperation aligned with Egypt's current priorities, particularly in smart targeting systems for subsidies. Farouk expressed interest in India's unified digital identity platform, which uses biometric verification to streamline subsidy distribution, reduce duplication, and cut costs. The two sides also discussed India's experience in managing strategic reserves of basic commodities through a centralised storage infrastructure, as well as its efforts in digitising food support systems via smart cards and electronic point-of-sale terminals to enhance oversight and equitable distribution. Additionally, India shared results from its pilot programmes that convert in-kind subsidies to conditional cash transfers, which improved efficiency and transparency. Farouk welcomed the insights as Egypt reviews its own subsidy policies and explores more sustainable alternatives. The parties agreed to explore institutional cooperation through a potential memorandum of understanding covering digital subsidy systems, strategic stock management, targeting mechanisms, and joint technical training. India also welcomed an Egyptian technical delegation to visit and learn from its systems on the ground. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English Subediting: M. S. Salama
