Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met with the Indian Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs and Prime Minister's Special Envoy, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, on Tuesday. Their meeting involved discussions of bilateral relations and enhanced cooperation between the two countries, according to an official press release. After conveying Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's greetings, Naqvi presented Al-Sisi with an invitation to the ‘Third India-Africa Forum Summit', due to take place during October this year in the Indian capital New Delhi. While Al-Sisi commended "India's experience in achieving political and economic progress", Naqvi praised "the sound progress Egypt has made in terms of security, political stability and economic advancement". Naqvi also expressed his hopes of deepening cooperation with Egypt, as "a gateway for India to Africa". Naqvi further welcomed Al-Sisi's desire to learn from the Indian experience in combating terrorism, saying that his country too "has suffered from the scourge of terrorism". To enhance bilateral cooperation, Naqvi announced that "a number of senior Indian officials will visit Egypt in the coming period", a move greeted by Al-Sisi as "welcomed on both the official and popular levels". On Monday, the Indian representative was welcomed by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in a meeting to discuss bilateral relations. The issue of terrorism and the need for "international efforts to fight and eliminate it" were also highlighted. The India-Africa Forum Summit is designed to facilitate economic and political relations between Africa and India, and to increase security cooperation.
