The Hindu : Front Page : India, Egypt to ‘make up for lost time’

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Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008
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India, Egypt to ‘make up for lost time’

Sandeep Dikshit

Strategic dialogue to be initiated at Foreign Ministers level

— PHOTO: PTI/Subhav Shukla

NEW CHAPTER: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: Meeting bilaterally at the summit level after 11 years, India and Egypt agreed to “make up for the lost time” by deciding to initiate a strategic dialogue at the Foreign Ministers level and accelerate political and economic ties by signing five pacts, including an extradition treaty.

“The visit has opened a new chapter in our relations. We have both agreed that all the conditions are ripe for transforming our relations to correspond to contemporary realities,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told journalists after meeting the visiting Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, here on Tuesday. “It is my firm belief that the time has come for India and Egypt to rekindle the special nature of our bilateral relations based upon the immense goodwill that exists between our two peoples. We have agreed to work closely on major challenges like the global financial crisis,” Dr. Singh said.

“The agreements that have been signed and the Joint Declaration that has been issued cover many new areas of cooperation including space and health. The establishment of a strategic dialogue at the level of the two Foreign Ministers reflects our intention to upgrade our relations. We have agreed to work together to combat terrorism and signed an Extradition Treaty,” he said.

“My current visit to India comes to give a new strong momentum to our historic relations and partnership,” responded Mr. Mubarak. On the financial crises, he endorsed the stand taken by BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries for a more inclusive order at international financial institutions and multilateral bodies, besides discussing solutions on a more broad-based forum. “This crisis requires that all countries move on two fronts.”

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