The Hindu : National : Egyptian President to visit India from November 16

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Egyptian President to visit India from November 16

Vinay Kumar

NEW DELHI: Egyptian President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak will visit India from November 16 to 18 during which both sides will sign several agreements and finalise the contours of an extradition treaty.

A high-level ministerial delegation, including those holding Foreign and Communication portfolios, will accompany the President. The visit comes after the two countries exchanged as many as 16 ministerial visits over the past two years.

Mr. Mubarak will be presented the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding. He will have discussions with President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani.Recalling the warm friendship between Gamal Abdul Nasser and Jawaharlal Nehru that culminated in the Friendship Treaty of 1955, Egyptian Ambassador in India Mohammed Higazy said on Wednesday that India and Egypt share old civilisational values and relations. The similarities and synergies have brought them even closer, he added.

Mr. Mubarak’s visit comes three months after External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee paid a visit to Egypt this July.

“India has played an important role on the global arena, leading us to cooperate with New Delhi. Peace and security remain our common goals. Egypt has also played a pivotal role in taking initiatives for peace and stability in West Asia,” the Egyptian Ambassador said.

Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $3.5 billion last year and Indian investments in Egypt were set to increase to nearly $2 billion by the end of this year. “Almost all big Indian companies are in Egypt in areas like information technology, communications, science and technology,” he said, adding that the Egyptian economy had grown by 7.5 per cent over the past five years. Another fast-growing sector was tourism, Dr. Higazy said, adding that over 82,000 Indians visited Egypt last year and the number was expected to go up this year.

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