After a two-year gap in hosting Republic Day guests due to the Covid-19 pandemic, New Delhi finally hosted a guest this time. On the occasion of India’s 74th Republic Day, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi shared the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to witness the grand parade on the Kartavya Path.
Apart from the optics, El-Sisi arrived in New Delhi for a three-day tour that marked bilateral exchanges on the subjects of trade and investment, and expansion of cooperation in import and export. In hindsight, El-Sisi’s New Delhi visit was hardly symbolic and ceremonial. It seems to have been strategically planned to truly value Indo-Egypt relations and tap into the potential of a bilateral partnership.
Why Egypt is important for India?
Egypt is a crucial partner for any country that is ambitious about its long-term growth plans. It is the largest country in the Arab region with a population of about 110 million and is naturally rich in oil and gas. In fact, India is one of the top importers of Egyptian crude oil and natural gas. India’s top imported items from Egypt for FY 2020-21 were Petroleum Oil (46.2 percent) and Petroleum Gas (11.1 percent). In a world which is tightly squeezed for oil and gas resources, it is increasingly important to shore up influence in energy-rich countries. This reflects India’s stance on enhancing bilateral ties with Egypt.
Egypt’s strategic location
Egypt has one of the most unique locations in the world. Having a population of 110 million, it straddles both Asia and Africa and boasts of an influential military in the volatile Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. So, Egypt offers a geostrategic and geopolitical advantage in a resource-rich region that is infested with multiple armed disputes and insurgencies. On top of it, Suez Canal, an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and divides Asia and Africa. The canal is a popular trade route between Europe and Asia. The Suez Canal is the primary route to connect merchandise to European markets.
For India, Cairo is therefore a key power, for both import of hydrocarbons from the Arab world and North Africa, as well as the export of merchandise to the European markets and other parts of the Western world. Moreover, Cairo also carries a lot of diplomatic capital. Egypt’s capital hosts the League of Arab States, which signifies its tall position in the Arab world. Moreover, Egypt also has good diplomatic relations with the Western world under the leadership of President El-Sisi. From New Delhi’s perspective, Egypt’s diplomatic capital is crucial. India can expect Cairo to extend necessary support to it on contentious issues as a reasonable Arab power. This can help India plan for diplomatic contingencies and steer clear of objectionable issues.
A report by the Middle East Institute (MEI) stated that “Cairo plays a hybrid role in Africa. Egypt is positioning itself as a political, economic, and security gateway to the rest of the continent and is itself a rising strategic player with a growing security and intelligence footprint across Africa. Egypt has staked its geo-economic strategy on its engagement with the rest of the continent.” The MEI report further stated that by reshaping their bilateral ties, India and Egypt can “establish a new security architecture for West Asia that addresses the region’s challenges in light of the US’s pivot to the Indo-Pacific.”
Rekindling the historical relationship
India and Egypt share a historical relationship. PM Modi himself said, “India and Egypt are among the oldest civilisations in the world. There has been a continuous relationship between us for thousands of years. More than 4,000 years ago, trade with Egypt used to take place through the Lothal Port of Gujarat.” The prime minister added, “We have decided that under the India-Egypt Strategic Partnership, we will develop a long-term framework for more comprehensive cooperation in the political, security, economic and scientific fields.”
By inviting El-Sisi as Republic Day’s chief guest, India and Egypt are signalling that they are looking to rekindle their historical relationship. The bilateral equations between the two countries can come in handy in the present context of geopolitical uncertainty and the unravelling of polarity in international politics.
India and Egypt had themselves championed the idea of a multi-polar world way back in 1961 when they co-founded the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) with Yugoslavia, Indonesia and Ghana. Over the years, the NAM seemed to lose steam, but now the idea of multipolarity is gaining ground in the context of the Ukraine war and other events that seem to suggest a shift away from unipolarity or bipolarity. As such, both India and Egypt are ambitious powers that want the freedom of action to pursue their own interests, without having to take sides.
This mutual understanding was also visible in the decision of the two countries to elevate their relationship to the “strategic partnership” level across sectors such as political, security, defence, energy, and economic areas. They also exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the fields of cybersecurity, culture, information technology, and broadcasting.
With El-Sisi’s Delhi visit, both Cairo and New Delhi are therefore showing signs of coming together to establish and lead a new multi-polar order. El-Sisi’s Delhi visit actually signals the dawn of a new era in Indo-Egypt ties.
Akshay Narang is a columnist who writes on national and international affairs. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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