INDIA said it was looking forward to strengthening economic ties with Egypt as President Mohamed Morsi headed to New Delhi for talks starting on Tuesday (March 19).
The Egyptian president is due to meet India’s Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and business groups to bolster a blossoming trade relationship after paying a one-day visit to Pakistan on Monday (March 18).
“Our trade with Egypt has increased so rapidly in the last three years that India is now Egypt’s seventh-largest trading partner,” India's ambassador to Egypt Navdeep Suri told reporters ahead of the visit.
Morsi’s trip comes as Egypt is struggling to restore investor confidence after suffering a sharp economic decline since the uprising that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
His administration has been plagued by unrest and deadly clashes between protesters and police, blocking efforts to build broad-based support for a much-needed programme of economic reform.
During Morsi’s stop in Pakistan, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari urged him to help efforts to end the “bloodshed” in Syria and find a solution to the crisis.
The visit of Morsi is aimed at promoting trade and investment in Egypt’s troubled economy, Indian officials said. The two countries have traditionally had close links.
