Rajnath Singh to Visit Egypt: Rajnath Singh to visit Egypt on September 19, and will hold bilateral talks with Defense Production Minister

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will pay an official visit to Egypt from September 19-20, 2022 to further strengthen the defense cooperation and special friendship between India and Egypt.

During the visit, he will hold bilateral talks with the Minister of Defense and Defense Production, General Mohammad Zaki, a Defense Ministry press release said.

The release also said that the two ministers will review bilateral defense ties, explore new initiatives to intensify military-to-military ties, and focus on deepening cooperation. An MoU will also be signed to further boost defense cooperation between India and Egypt.

The Defense Minister will also meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Earlier in July, India, and Egypt set a target of increasing annual bilateral trade from USD 7.26 billion to USD 12 billion over the next five years.

During the meeting held in Cairo from 25-26 July 2022, senior officials of both countries agreed to promote bilateral trade.

Egypt is one of the largest investment destinations for India in the region with current Indian investment of USD 3.15 billion. Indian companies continue to execute several projects in Egypt.

In addition, to boost defense cooperation between the two countries, an Indian Air Force team arrived in Egypt on 22 June to participate in a bilateral 'Strategic Leadership Program' with the Egyptian Air Force.

Earlier in November, last year, Chief of Air Staff Chief Marshal VR Chowdhury had gone to Egypt for his five-day visit to attend the Air Power Symposium and Defense Exhibition (EDEX) in Cairo.

The event was scheduled from November 28 to December 2.

The year 2022 has special significance as it marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Egypt.

Egypt and India also enjoy cordial defense relations. There was close cooperation between the Air Force, with efforts to jointly develop a fighter aircraft in the 1960s. IAF pilots also trained Egyptian pilots from 1960 to 1984. In recent times, there have been several high-level exchanges of visits by defense delegations since 2015.