New Delhi: India has shown a ‘thumbs up' sign to the “ongoing process of democratic transition” in Egypt. India's minister of state for external affairs E Ahamed, who during his fleeting Egypt visit met the cream of the Brotherhood leadership, called for strengthening of bilateral ties between the two countries. Ahamed, who is enroute to the non aligned movement conference in Sharm Al Sheikh in Egypt, also reiterated India's support to Egypt's ongoing process of democratic transition which was evident in the number of high-level political visits to Egypt since January 2011. Ahamed also met Mohamed Badie, General Guide (Chairman) of Muslim Brotherhood, in what could be called the South Asian country's second high-level contact with Brotherhood, which is emerging as a power to reckon with in contemporary Egyptian political space. Ahamed underlined the importance of further strengthening trade between India and Egypt, which is already pegged at $ 3.2 billion, with Indian businesses and the government investing around $ 2.5 billion in Egypt. Acknowledging both India and Egypt as two ancient civilizations of the world, Ahamed now called for further enhancement of bilateral relations between the two countries, even as both leaders also discussed regional issues of mutual concern. In March this year, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna had established the India's first contact with the Muslim Brotherhood by meeting Mohamed Morsy, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm the Freedom and Justice Party.
