India-Egypt Relations

India-Egypt Bilateral Relations

1. India and Egypt, two of the world’s oldest civilizations, have enjoyed a history of close contact from ancient times. Ashoka’s edicts refer to his relations with Egypt under Ptolemy-II in 3rd century B.C. In modern times, Mahatma Gandhi and Saad Zaghloul shared common goals on the independence of their countries, a relationship that was to blossom into an exceptionally close friendship between President Nasser and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, leading to a Friendship Treaty between the two countries in 1955.

Political Relations

2. The joint announcement of establishment of diplomatic relations at Ambassadorial level was made on 18 August 1947. Both countries have cooperated closely in multilateral fora and were the founding members of Non-Aligned Movement in 1961.
3. Since 1980’s, there have been regular high-level bilateral visits between India and Egypt. President Hosni Mubarak visited India in 1982, in 1983 (NAM Summit) and again in 2008. High level exchanges with Egypt continued after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and then President Mohamed Morsi visited India in March 2013. After the new government led by President Sisi took over in June 2014, President Sisi visited India for the third India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi in October 2015. President Sisi also paid a State visit to India in September 2016. President Sisi paid his 2nd State Visit to India in January 2023 when he was invited as the Chief Guest of India’s 74th Republic Day celebrations. President Sisi visited India again in September 2023 to participate in G20 Leaders’ Summit.
4. There have been five Prime Ministerial visits from India to Egypt since 1980’s: Shri Rajiv Gandhi (1985); Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao (1995); Shri I. K. Gujral (1997); Dr. Manmohan Singh (2009, NAM Summit); and Shri Narendra Modi (2023). During the State Visit of PM Modi in June 2023, an agreement was signed upgrading bilateral relations to Strategic Partnership. During the visit, PM Modi was also conferred with the ‘Order of the Nile’ - the highest civilian award of Egypt.
5. In addition, Prime Minister Modi and President Sisi have also met on the sidelines of UNGA, New York in September 2015, and on the sidelines of 9th BRICS Summit at Xiamen in September 2017. Against the backdrop of Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, PM Modi also held a telephonic conversation with President Sisi on 28th October 2023. In November 2024, PM Modi and President Sisi had an interaction on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil and in October 2024, on the sidelines of BRICS Summit in Russia. President Sisi called PM Modi on 24th April 2025, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack and conveying Egypt’s solidarity with India in countering terrorism.
6. Institutional mechanisms: There are several mechanisms of bilateral institutional dialogue at different levels.

Bilateral Mechanisms:

Inaugural Strategic Dialogue: The first round of Strategic Dialogue led by Foreign Ministers was held in Delhi in October 2025.
Foreign Office Consultations (FOC): The 14th round of Secretary-level FOC was held in Cairo on February 8, 2026.
Joint Committee Meetings (JCM) are held at the level of Foreign Minister. The 7thJCM was held in New Delhi in March 2018.
Joint Defence Committee (JDC): 11th edition of JDC was held in Cairo in April 2026.
Joint Trade Committee (JTC) and Joint Business Council (JBC):6th Joint Trade Committee meeting held in New Delhi in September 2024 & 5th Joint Business Council meeting held in Cairo in July 2022.

Joint Working Groups (JWG) are held at Senior Official level focusing on specific themes. Some of the recently held JWGs include-

5th round of Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism was held in New Delhi on 20th May 2026.
The second round of Joint Working Group on Health was held virtually in September 2025.
The Second Joint Working Group on New and Renewable Energy was organized virtually in June 2026.
1st JWG on Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries held virtually on 25 October 2022.
1st JWG on Health & Medicine held virtually on 11 April 2022.
1st JWG on Drugs & Pharmaceuticals held virtually on 14 March 2022.
JWG on Trade and Investment held via video- conference on 3 March 2021
2nd ISRO-NARSS JWG held in Cairo in November 2017.
1st JWG on Cyber Issues held in New Delhi in December 2016.
The 5th round of Joint Committee Meeting on S&T was held virtually in October 2021, focusing on agriculture, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and renewable energy.

Other high-level visits and Interactions:

There are regular high-level interactions between the two sides.

In May 2026, Foreign Minister H.E.Dr. Badr Abdelatty visited India for the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and had a bilateral meeting on the sidelines
In May 2026, Justice Minister H.E. Mahmoud El-Sherif visited India for the BRICS Justice Ministers’ Meeting and had a bilateral meeting with Indian Minister of Justice Mr. Arjun Ram Meghwal on its sidelines.
Dr.Badr Abdelatty visited Delhi to lead the inaugural Strategic Dialogue, in October 2025. During the visit, he met PM Modi.
Mr. J.P. Nadda, the Minister of Health& Chemicals& Fertilizers paid an official visit to Egypt in November 2025 and met PM Madbouly and also several key members of Cabinet and industry leaders.
A 9 membered multiparty delegation of Parliament led by Ms. Supriya Sule, visited Egypt in June 2025 in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.
Mr.Rafaat Hindy,the Minister of IT& Communication attended the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi in February 2026
MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh visited Egypt in January 2026, for an official visit and held meetings with the Foreign Minister Minister for Environment. In October 2025, he visited Cairo as the special envoy of PM Modi at the Sharm el Sheikh Gaza Peace Summit.
MoS Mr. Suresh Gopi visited Egypt in November 2025 for the inauguration of Grand Egyptian Museum.
Minister of Culture of Egypt and Head of Supreme Council of Media Regulations of Egypt attended the inaugural edition of World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in Mumbai in May 2025.
In March 2025, Egyptian Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mr. Hassan El-Khatib visited India to speak at the Raisina Dialogue. During the visit, he met the Indian Commerce and Industry Minister, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog and several companies from CII and FICCI.
In December 2025, FM Abdelatty met EAM at Sir Bani Yas Forum in UAE. In November 2025, the FMs interacted on the sidelines of G-20 Summit at Johannesburg. They also held telecons in the aftermath of Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.
In August 2025, PM Modi and PM Mostafa Madbouly had an interaction on the sidelines of SCO Summit in Tianjin, China
India also invited Egypt as a ‘Guest Country’ during its G20 Presidency. Multiple Egyptian delegations at official as well as Ministerial level traveled to India during this period to attend various G20 tracks. President Sisi participated in the Leaders’ Summit in September 2023.

Economic Relations

Egypt has traditionally been one of India’s most important trading partners in the African continent. The India-Egypt Bilateral Trade Agreement has been in operation since March 1978 and is based on the Most Favoured Nation clause. Economic cooperation is the key pillar of the Strategic Partnership between India and Egypt.

Over 700 Indian companies are registered in Egypt, of which around 70 are active in various sectors with a combined investment exceeding US$ 5.5 billion. Major Indian investments in Egypt include TCI Sanmar (with a value of US$ 1.6 billion), Alexandria Carbon Black, Dabur India, Flex P Films, SCIB Paints, Embee garments, and Galaxy chemicals. Indian companies are present in a range of sectors like apparel, agriculture, chemicals, energy, automobiles, retail and others. Overall, these companies provide direct and indirect employment to approximately 40,000 Egyptians.

The bilateral trade between India and Egypt was US$6.5 billion in FY 2025-26. India’s main items of exports to Egypt are petroleum products, engineering goods, chemicals, cotton yarn, buffalo meat and drugs & pharmaceuticals. Main items of imports from Egypt are petroleum products, inorganic chemicals, and metallic & non-metallic compounds and citrus fruits. India is the 5th largest exporter to Egypt, 12th largest Importer from Egypt and 6th Largest Trading partner to Egypt.

At the level of institutional mechanism, Joint Trade Commission (JTC) and Joint Business Council (JBC) are the foundational joint mechanism to resolve issues pertaining to bilateral trade & investments and to take forward cooperation in newer areas.

Bilateral economic engagement is further strengthened through regular high-level visits and institutional mechanisms. Over the past two years, more than 450 Indian companies have participated in business engagements, trade fairs, and exhibitions in Egypt.

In September 2025, an MoU was signed between Indian Institute of Foundrymen (IIF) and Federation of Egyptian Industries to collaborate in the realm of metallurgy. In December 2025, two such agreements were signed- an MoU b/w Taj Group of Hotels & Egyptian General Company of Tourism and Hotels( EGOTH) to manage the historic Intercontinental Hotel in Cairo and the other b/w Zydus and GennVax in vaccine manufacturing with Indian technology.

Egyptian investments in India are to the tune of US$ 37 million which include ElSewedy Group (smart electrometers); KAPCI Coatings (car paints), Modern Waterproofing Group / Bitumode (waterproofing membranes and protection boards for construction industry) and 700 Apps (IT Services).

The grants-in-aid and capacity development projects include: Pan Africa Tele-medicine and Tele-education project in Alexandria University, Solar electrification project in Agaween village and Vocational Training Centre for textile technology in Shoubra, Cairo, which have been completed. An IT Centre in Al Azhar University, CEIT(Centre of Excellence in IT), is also operational since February 2019 and has trained over 2500 students.

‘Egypt Pavilion’ has been launched on the B2B digital platform MSME Mart (msmemart.com). The initiative aims to connect micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from Egypt and India, enabling them to explore trade opportunities, showcase products, and establish direct business partnerships for MSME enterprises.

A Special Rupee Vostro Account (SRVA), opened by SBI with Banque Misr, has been operationalized in June 2026 after approval of the Central Bank of Egypt to facilitate bilateral trade by reducing transaction costs and enhancing the efficiency of cross-border settlements.

Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation: Since the year 2000, over 1500 Egyptian officials have benefited from ITEC programmes.

Defence Relations

15. India and Egypt enjoy close defense exchanges. This has been witnessed through the visits of more than 50 defense delegations to Egypt in the last 3 years. In November 2022, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh visited Egypt. RM met with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Defence Minister to hold substantive discussions on defence cooperation and ways to enhance mutual exchanges. An MoU on Defense Cooperation was signed by both the Defense Ministers.
16. In December 2025, Chief of the Air Staff paid an official visit to Egypt upon the invitation of Egyptian Air Vice Marshall Saqr to strengthen cooperation between the forces. Additionally, Indian defence companies have regularly participated in Egypt’s flagship defence exhibition-EDEX since the past few years. In the latest edition held in December 2025, a large delegation of 30 Indian public and private sector defence companies participated.
17. Most of the current defence cooperation is determined by Joint Defence Committee (JDC) activities. Starting in 2006, ten JDC meetings have been held alternately in either country, followed by exchange activities. The latest round, i.e., 11th round of JDC was held in Cairo in April 2026. First navy-Navy Staff talks were also held in April 2026 in Cairo.
18. Bilateral Exercises: India and Egypt have continued to participate in joint exercises in a endeavour to promote interoperability.

Army: The fourth edition of Exercise Cyclone, a joint exercise between Special Forces of India and Egypt, was conducted in April 2026 in Cairo.
Navy: Two officers from the Egyptian Navy participated in the Multilateral Indian Naval Exercise MILAN-2024 in February 2024.
Air Force: IAF-EAF participated in the 08th Tactical Leadership Programme from 26 November 2024 to 27 December 2024 at Cairo West Airbase, Egypt. IAF Sarang Display Team participated in the 1st edition of the Egypt International Air Show in September 2024.
Tri-service Exercises: Indian Armed Forces including Army, Navy, and Air Force participated in the multilateral Tri-services Exercise ‘Bright Star-2025’ in August / September 2025 with more than 700 personnel-constituting the single largest foreign contingent.

19. Ship & Aircraft Transits: Egypt continues to be a major transit hub for Indian air crafts and naval vessels en-route/returning from overhauls as well as military exercises in European region and Atlantic. In past few years, a number of Indian Air Force air-crafts and Indian Navy ships have visited/transited through Egypt.

Cultural Relations

20. Cultural Symbols: The cultural linkages between India and Egypt are evident from the legacy of Indian leaders celebrated in Egypt: Three streets in Cairo are named after Indian leaders namely, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. Zakir Hussein. In India, Gamal Abdul Nasser Marg in Delhi is named after the late President of Egypt. There are three busts of Mahatma Gandhi in Egypt: at the Supreme Council of Culture, Cairo, a bronze bust at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and one at the Al-Horreya Park, Cairo. The Baron Empain Palace in Cairo also known as Le Palais Hindou ('The Hindu Palace'). Built in 1905, it is a distinctive and historic mansion by Alexandre Marcel, a French architect inspired by the Hindu temples of Odisha in East India.
21. The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC), set up in 1992, has been promoting cultural cooperation between the two countries, through regular activities such as holding Kathak, Hindi, Urdu and Yoga classes; seminars; film shows; exhibitions and participation in local cultural activities. In its outreach activities, MACIC also organizes India Day in Egyptian Governorates and universities on a regular basis. In collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, MACIC also screens Indian films monthly at venues like Hanager Theater, Cairo Opera House, and Cinema Culture Palace, reflecting the popularity of Bollywood among Egyptians. In the year 2025, MACIC organized the first ever Indian Film Festival in Egypt.
22. As part of cooperation in fine arts and culture, Egypt was designated as the ‘Partner Nation’ for the 39th Edition of Surajkund Mela held in January 2026, with the participation of 50 Egyptian artisans and artistes.
23. MACIC has been organizing “Glimpses of India” painting competition for Egyptian children for the last 28 years. The 29th edition of the “Glimpses of India” painting competition was organized in November 2025. With a record participation of 29,134 Egyptian students representing 3,372 schools across 23 governorates this edition stood out for its unprecedented scale, turning out to be the largest cultural outreach event organized by any diplomatic mission in Egypt and by any Indian Mission abroad.
24. In February 2026, MACIC organized the first ever Regional Hindi Conference in collaboration with Ain Shams University. This witnessed the participation of scholars from 7 African Countries. In January, 2026, MACIC organized the ‘Bharat Milan & Kite Festival’ marking the celebration of Indian Culture with dance, music, food and kite festival-attended by MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh and the one-in-a-kind festival also witnessed the participation of Roohani sisters, the renowned Sufi singers. MACIC organized 'Bharat Week' celebrations leading up to the 79th Indian Independence Day in August 2025. Indian cultural troupes visit Egypt regularly. A 10 member Bollywood Kathak Troupe visited Egypt to participate in the Aswan International Film Festival held in Feb 2026.
25. Yoga has gained immense popularity in Egypt. Mission has been organizing IDY celebrations in different parts of Egypt since its inception in 2014. The 12th and the latest edition of the International Day of Yoga was celebrated on June 21, 2026 at the Pyramids of Giza for the first time ever. This year’s celebration was marked by a series of curtain raiser Yoga events across Egypt. The Yoga events were attended by thousands of Egyptian Yoga enthusiasts and friends of India.
26. Through the School Connect Programme, MACIC regularly hosts school visits, showcasing India’s rich cultural heritage and artistic traditions to Egyptian children. MACIC has launched the “Campus Connect: University Interaction Program” to foster academic and cultural exchange between India and Egypt.
27. MACIC actively promotes India's rich artistic and cultural heritage by organizing regular workshops on traditional Indian art forms in Egypt- like Mehendi Design, Indian Embroidery, Garba Workshop, Madhubani Painting, and Bharatanatyam classical dance. In January 2026, MACIC held a wildlife exhibition in its premises to promote the incredible richness of Indian fauna.

Tourism exchanges and flight connectivity

28. In the year 2024, 50,000 Indian tourists visited Egypt and 18,000 Egyptian tourists visited India. Mission regularly organizes tourism promotion events for increasing the inbound tourism to India from Egypt. Egypt Air operates direct flights between Delhi and Cairo and Mumbai and Cairo.

Track 2 Dialogue

29. Mission has been expanding its reach, covering think-tanks such as ECFA (Egyptian Council of Foreign Affairs), ACPSS (Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies), ECES (Egyptian Center For Economic Studies), CCCPA (Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding in Africa) and GAPP (Global Affairs & Public Policy School of American University in Cairo). India Foundation engages with ECFA and their recent consultations were held in October 2025 in Cairo. India’s ORF engages with ECES and the second dialogue was held in November 2025. ORF signed an MoU with ACPSS on 3rd November 2025 for collaboration on joint studies, research and continued dialogue.