India's external affairs minister Sushma Swarj met Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo on Tuesday, according to a foreign ministry statement. The statement, released on the ministry's Facebook page, said that the ministers held lengthy discussions on bilateral, regional and international areas of mutual interest. Sushma Swarj is in Cairo 23 - 25 August on an official visit. On Monday she met with Egypt's president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. Foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in the statement that Swarj's visit reflects "the deep historical ties between Egypt and India, and an eagerness to improve cooperation in all areas." The foreign minister Shoukry expressed his pleasure at the increased flow of goods and investment between the two nations, which the statement said has reached an annual exchange of $5 billion. Indian investments in Egypt exceed $2.5 billion and are in over 50 companies in various fields, according to the statement. India is Egypt's seventh largest trade partner, according to Egypt's State Information Service (SIS). The two ministers also signed memorandums of understanding for cooperation in the fields of tourism and research. Both parties discussed regional and international issues, emphasising the need to cooperate in fighting terrorism and the importance of diplomacy in conflict resolution. Egypt's ambassador to India Hossam Tag Eldin had said in a statement on Sunday that the visit represents a new phase of cooperation between Egypt and India. Tag Eldin said Indian companies are willing to invest in the Suez Canal expansion project. The Indian minister of shipping and transport Nitin Gadkari attended the opening ceremony of the new Suez Canal waterway on 6 August 2015. The external affairs minister's spokesperson Vikas Swarup wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that the three primary purposes of the visit were "political collaboration", "economic engagement" and "cultural contacts". Swarup subsequently said, also on Twitter, that "India not only condemns all acts of terrorism but joins hands with Egypt in the fight to remove the scourge completely." India's external affairs minister described the visit as a renewal of old ties between ancient civilizations. But Indian newspaper The Hundi quoted Jawaharlal Nehru University's Aftab Kamal as saying these ties have been weakened over recent years for various diplomatic reasons. "The gap between India and Egypt has been widening. The two sides were at one time very close at the highest level, but that has faded. The political dispensations on both sides are not very comfortable with each other; there may have been concerns in Egypt over India's advances towards Iran and Israel. But there is a mutual expectation of the revival of ties, particularly in trade," Kamal said. In 2009 India's then prime minister Manmohan Singh visited Egypt. In March 2013, Egypt's now ousted president Mohamed Morsi visited India and signed memorandums of understanding in the areas of IT and cyber security. source:Ahram Online
