India-Egypt: Old Ties and New Frontiers

(Organised by the India International Centre on 21st April, 2025)

Speaker: His Excellency Mr Kamel Zayed Kamel Galal, Ambassador of Egypt to India

Chair: Shri Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, Foreign Affairs Editor, The Economic Times

1. The India International Centre (IIC) hosted a talk on India-Egypt ties, revolving around the millennia-old relationship that the two countries share and the potential for a strengthened bond in diverse sectors, in offline mode on 21st April, 2025. 

   
   

2. The talk emphasised the role played by the two states to create a peaceful and prosperous West Asia in light of the Israel-Palestine War, where Egypt’s contributions in providing assistance to those in Gaza were highlighted. 

   
   

3. Featuring HE Mr Kamel Zayed Galal, Ambassador of Egypt to India, the talk delved deep into political, economic and cultural ties between India and Egypt, underlining a contemporary strategic partnership with immense future potential in strengthening cooperation at the economic and cultural level. Egypt’s assistance to victims in Gaza was discussed at length, as were current and future rehabilitation and reconstruction plans. 

The Talk 

4. The Chair, Shri Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, made an introductory remark about India-Egypt ties and their transforming relations in the past half decade. He also commented on the situation in West Asia over the past 1.5 years before giving the floor to the speaker. 

   
   

5. Ambassador Galal began by expressing his condolences on the death of Pope Francis. He proceeded to broadly outline several principles of Egypt’s foreign policy, such as mutual respect, peace, justice, co-existence, and sustainable development, rooted in a long and rich history.  

   
   

6. On relations between the two states, the Ambassador traced a history of more than 4500 years, particularly highlighting relations from the Land of Punt in Egypt during the Fifth Dynasty.  Shifting to modern relations, he mentioned Saad Zaghloul and Gandhi’s common goals of working for their respective countries, along with Muhammad Goumah, a famous Egyptian writer who met Gandhi in 1931, and how they both affected each other. PM Nehru and President Nasser were pointed out as shared leaders of the liberation movements of the Global South, taking further the India-Egypt relationship. 

   
   

7. A lower pace of relations between the two states underwent a significant change in 2014, which the Ambassador called an important juncture, with the election of PM Narendra Modi in India and President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Egypt. As both leaders had ambitions to transform their countries and a shared vision in international relations, a strategic partnership was established between the two states. A positive trajectory was highlighted in different fields, with an emphasis on defence. Ambassador Galal underscored the potential for joint production in the defence field while also alluding to talks with Indian counterparts in the next few days for combatting terrorism. 

   
   

8. Conferring PM Modi on 25th June, 2024, the country’s highest state honour, the ‘Order of the Nile’, Egyptian President Sisi showcased the significance attached to India.  

   
   

9. The Ambassador expressed dissatisfaction with bilateral economic cooperation between the states, calling the 8.4-billion-dollar trade not enough and having great room for potential. He also hoped for an increased number of strategic investments from both sides, along with greater cultural cooperation. 

   
   

10. Shifting focus to the war in Gaza, four parallel tracks of humanitarian aid, security, political assistance, reconstruction, and rehabilitation were discussed. With respect to humanitarian aid, the Ambassador called Egypt ‘a hub of assistance’. 

    
    

11. To establish security, Egypt has been mediating ever since the start of the conflict for a ceasefire, achieving temporary success that failed to stand firm, and for the release of prisoners, as political extremism remains a key concern. A detailed plan comprising several components and stages for reconstruction and rehabilitation in Gaza was outlined, key focus areas being financial assistance, administrative assistance, and security. The floor was then opened for questions.

Questions

12. The Chair, Shri Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, thanked the Ambassador for touching upon several issues in his talk. Citing the Ambassador’s concerns towards economic potential, he questioned the current strength of the Egyptian currency and the stability of profit for Indian companies, referencing Egypt’s offers of Special Economic Zones and other incentives to India. In response, the Ambassador first presented a video on the Suez Canal Economic (SCE) Zone, calling it Egypt’s offer to India, in a nutshell. He emphasised the SCE Zone as a special area where India can invest and access a whole network of free trade agreements with the European Union, UK, Turkey, and several African nations. Connectivity between the Red and the Mediterranean seas was highlighted, and offers of land to India were said to be in discussion with the Indian administration. On matters of economic strength, the Ambassador revealed that the project had led to some difficulties in Forex availability, but with reform programmes, Egypt recorded its highest reserves towards the end of 2024, worth 47.1 billion dollars, up from the 18 billion two years prior. It also received 49.7 billion dollars in foreign direct investments (FDIs) in 2024, and expects around 29 billion dollars this year. 

    
    

13. Drawing upon connectivity as a crucial aspect, the Chair then inquired where Egypt saw itself in making India-Mediterranean a reality in light of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor initiated in 2023. The Ambassador drew upon connectivity as not limited to trade but rather encompassing digital connectivity as well in the modern age. Presenting another video on the SCE Zone, infrastructural facilities, industrial complexes, electricity availability and efficient transportation were specified as key features of the 461 sq km SEZ. The project cost a lot of money and effort, post which Egypt introduced the Haya Karima Foundation in 2019 for the benefit of civil society and building a resilient economy. It was brought to the forefront that despite geopolitical issues and issues in the Red Sea, Egypt recorded a 3.8 per cent growth in GDP in 2024, as opposed to 1.2 per cent in West Asia in general. 

    
    

14. Shri Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury then questioned the Ambassador on Egyptian efforts to normalise the situation in Gaza, Yemen, and with the Yahudi community, to which the Ambassador replied with a need to advance with a more holistic approach. He touched upon contacts with other governments to solve the situation without the use of the military and looked forward to important developments in the upcoming months.

    
    

15. On being asked about the possibility of the elimination of Gaza and Hamas, Ambassador Galal called the war a heartbreaking issue and stressed the need to use wisdom and support peaceful principles to handle it. Calling Gaza a Palestinian territory, he advocated that history could not be changed, and Gaza was there to stay. The Egyptian concerns regarding the safety of hostages and not giving in to extremism were brought up.

    
    

16. Personal stories illuminating cultural exchange and awareness were shared by attendees, which led the Ambassador to reiterate the potential for further cooperation in the sphere and explore further opportunities. He revealed he was currently reading a book on Hinduism, which led him to see the scope of a greater synergy between India and Egypt. 

    
    

17. With mounting pressure on the Rafah border, the Ambassador was asked how Egypt felt the pressure. It was mentioned that some Palestinians felt let down by the West Asian world and questioned if he felt that was correct, given Egypt’s continued assistance. Ambassador Galal responded that the Rafah border is, and will forever be, open from Egypt’s side, which houses more than 10 million refugees from various countries. He was averse to the use of the term ‘refugees’, preferring instead to call such people ‘visitors’ or ‘guests’ who would never be put in camps, rather be provided assistance of all kinds, especially medical. He shared his personal involvement in the same and the feeling that Palestine appreciates whatever Egypt has done to help. 

    
    

18. The Chair, Shri Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, brought up Egypt’s membership in BRICS as acquired in 2023 and inquired what idea Egypt had for its economy and that of the larger Global South through BRICS. 

    
    

19. Ambassador Galal expressed belief in India and Egypt having a shared vision on BRICS and seeing eye to eye in multilateral ties and on the Global South. He held a view that international financial institutions today require reforms, and BRICS could be a platform for developmental and economic cooperation, dealing with the digital divide and artificial intelligence, besides economic and social development. 

    
    

20. The Chair then queried what exactly Egypt would like to do in the defence sector through joint production, as no concrete action had yet been taken. The Ambassador refrained from sharing details, merely pointing out that Egypt was in a process of diversifying the sources of its defence products.

    
    

21. The Palestine issue was brought up again, and India’s role in providing assistance was questioned. Ambassador Galal withdrew from commenting on India’s contributions in detail, mentioning only that the issue required a commitment to side with the principles of peace, towards which India has a responsibility which it would fulfil according to the possibilities of the situation. 

    
    

22. Curiosity towards the presence of awareness about India amongst the commoners of Egypt was expressed, to which the Ambassador replied that the Egyptians were well-rounded people, aware of old civilisations such as India, which interested them. The presence of foreigners on their soil had become a part of their identity that they embraced. 

Concluding Remarks 

23. The event concluded with Shri Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, appreciating the personal anecdotes shared, and Amb Galal thanking the audience and the hosts for making it an insightful session for all.

Ends.

The author, Manjari Bhargava, is a Junior Editor at Ramjas Political Review

Featured image credit: https://india.shafaqna.com/EN/india-egyptian-relations-are-now-strategic/