Egyptian prez invited as chief guest for R-day
NEW DELHI: India has invited Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-sisi as the chief guest for the Republic Day in 2023, reflecting New Delhi’s continuing focus on the Arab world as it prepares for a year of high-profile diplomatic engagements.
The formal invitation was handed over when external affairs minister S Jaishankar met Sisi in Cairo on October 16 during an official visit to Egypt, people familiar with the matter said.
Egypt is among the nine guest countries invited to the G20 Summit under India’s presithe dency in 2023.
An invitation as chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations on January 26 is a signal honour reserved for the country’s close allies and partners.
Following his meeting with Sisi last month, Jaishankar said in a tweet that he had conveyed “warm greetings of PM @narendramodi and handed over a personal message”.
Both countries are yet to make a formal announcement about the matter.
The 68-year-old generalturned-politician is set to be the first Egyptian leader to be hosted by India for Republic Day celebrations though the two countries have enjoyed close relations in past decades.
Talmiz Ahmad, who served as India’s ambassador to Saudia Arabia, Oman and the UAE, said the invitation to Sisi appeared to be driven by several factors, including Egypt’s resurrection after a serious economic crisis, its independent foreign policy and its growing role in Africa.
Egypt faced serious domestic political issues such as the Arab Spring protests and a severe economic crisis at a time when India’s focus moved towards the Gulf countries because of interests such as energy, trade, investments and the presence of millions of expatriates, Ahmad said.
“But now, Egypt seems to have recovered... and it has taken substantial initiatives that are independent of the Gulf countries, such as its position on Syria, Yemen and Turkey. Egypt has also built its relations with Iraq and opened a dialogue with Iran,” he added.