Egypt–India relations
Encyclopedia
Egypt–India relations are bilateral relations between Egypt
and India
. Modern Egypt–India relations go back to the contacts between Saad Zaghloul and Mohandas Gandhi on the common goals of their respective movements of independence. In 1955, Egypt under Gamal Abdul Nasser and India under Jawaharlal Nehru
became the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement
. During the 1956 War, Nehru stood supporting Egypt to the point of threatening to withdraw his country from the British Commonwealth. In 1967, following the Arab-Israeli war, India supported Egypt and the Arabs. In 1977, New Delhi described the visit of President Anwar al-Sadat to Jerusalem as a "brave" move and considered the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel a primary step on the path of a just settlement of the Middle East problem. Major Egyptian exports to India include raw cotton, raw and manufactured fertilizers, oil and oil products, organic and non-organic chemicals, leather and iron products. Major imports into Egypt from India are cotton yarn, sesame, coffee, herbs, tobacco and lentils. The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum is also currently negotiating the establishment of a natural gas-operated fertilizer plant with another Indian company. In 2004 the Gas Authority of India Limited, bought 15% of Egypt Nat Gas distribution and marketing company.
Former President Mubarak
of Egypt visited India in 2008. During the visit he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
. India supports the sovereignty of Egypt
ian borders, against the Sudan
ese.
signed a contract with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation
(EGPC) to import 8 shipments of raw oil in 2003. Two years preceding the contract, they had imported shipments from Egypt. In August 2004, the Indian company GAIL procured 15% of the Egyptian Company Nat Gas which deals with marketing and distributing natural gas in Egypt.
Egyptian and Indian ministers of petroleum met in 2004 in Egypt to discuss the prospect of investment and purchase of oil and gas from Egypt.
, received its largest order worth from Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company. The order was funded through the European Investment Bank
and the Egyptian National Bank. The order included design, supply and construction of power transmission towers
and laying of 196 km of transmission lines in Egypt. It was completed on a turnkey basis within a period 24 months. This, however, was not the first time. KEC International
has been laying power transmission lines in Egypt for more than 40 years. Recently, KEC International
was enganged in a contract for supply of overhead transmission towers for the Egypt-Jordan Transmission Line.
by Vodafone
The current Indian investment in Egypt stands at $2.5 billion in about 45 projects. Alexandria Carbon Black, the Alexandria Fibre Co., Dabur India's production facility for its cosmetics line, Niletex, Auto Tech Engineering, Marico's acquisition of two hair care brands and the Sanmar Group's acquisition of a unit of Trust Chemicals of Egypt represent some of the main Indian investments in Egypt. GAIL has equity and management stake in two gas distribution ventures in Fayoum and Cairo as well as in Natgas. In April 2007, OVL and its partner IPR Red Sea Inc. announced a significant oil field discovery in the North Ramadan Concession in the Gulf of Suez and reported a second discovery in November 2008, though these deposits were later found to be commercially unviable. In March 2008, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPC) signed a Concession Agreement for two oil and gas exploration blocks in Egypt. (The two exploration blocks are North Hap’y and South Diyur. N. Hap’y is an offshore block located in the Mediterranean Sea and S. Diyur is an onshore block located in the Western Desert.) GSPC subsequently acquired three more exploration blocks in the Red Sea region in 2010. Satyam Computers and Wipro have set up global delivery centers in Cairo. The Oberoi Group has been managing a hotel and Nile cruises; Kirloskar Brothers assemble diesel engines and irrigation pump sets in Egypt; Ranbaxy has an Egyptian subsidiary for manufacturing pharmaceutical formulations; Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra are marketing their vehicles in Egypt, and Bajaj Auto dominated the three-wheelers market.
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Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Modern Egypt–India relations go back to the contacts between Saad Zaghloul and Mohandas Gandhi on the common goals of their respective movements of independence. In 1955, Egypt under Gamal Abdul Nasser and India under Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
became the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
. During the 1956 War, Nehru stood supporting Egypt to the point of threatening to withdraw his country from the British Commonwealth. In 1967, following the Arab-Israeli war, India supported Egypt and the Arabs. In 1977, New Delhi described the visit of President Anwar al-Sadat to Jerusalem as a "brave" move and considered the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel a primary step on the path of a just settlement of the Middle East problem. Major Egyptian exports to India include raw cotton, raw and manufactured fertilizers, oil and oil products, organic and non-organic chemicals, leather and iron products. Major imports into Egypt from India are cotton yarn, sesame, coffee, herbs, tobacco and lentils. The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum is also currently negotiating the establishment of a natural gas-operated fertilizer plant with another Indian company. In 2004 the Gas Authority of India Limited, bought 15% of Egypt Nat Gas distribution and marketing company.
Former President Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
of Egypt visited India in 2008. During the visit he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...
. India supports the sovereignty of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian borders, against the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
ese.
Economic relations
India is the fourth largest trade partner of Egypt after the US, Italy and Saudi Arabia.Oil
In 2003, Indian giant RelianceReliance Petroleum
Reliance Petroleum Limited was set up by Reliance Industries Limited , one of India's largest private sector companies based in Mumbai. Currently, RPL is subsidiary of RIL, and has interests in the downstream oil business...
signed a contract with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation
Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation
The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation is a national oil company of Egypt. It owns 70% of shares in the Egyptian Natural Gas Company, as well as a 75% stake in the petroleum-industry support airline Petroleum Air Services .It own a stake in the East Mediterranean Gas Company....
(EGPC) to import 8 shipments of raw oil in 2003. Two years preceding the contract, they had imported shipments from Egypt. In August 2004, the Indian company GAIL procured 15% of the Egyptian Company Nat Gas which deals with marketing and distributing natural gas in Egypt.
Egyptian and Indian ministers of petroleum met in 2004 in Egypt to discuss the prospect of investment and purchase of oil and gas from Egypt.
Power
In 2008, India's KEC International LimitedKEC International
KEC International Limited is India's second largest maker of electricity transmission towers and one of the largest Power Transmission Engineering, Procurement & Construction companies in the world, headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It part of the RPG Group, engaged in laying of power...
, received its largest order worth from Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company. The order was funded through the European Investment Bank
European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank is the European Union's long-term lending institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. A policy-driven bank, the EIB supports the EU’s priority objectives, especially European integration and the development of economically weak regions...
and the Egyptian National Bank. The order included design, supply and construction of power transmission towers
Transmission tower
A transmission tower is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line. They are used in high-voltage AC and DC systems, and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes...
and laying of 196 km of transmission lines in Egypt. It was completed on a turnkey basis within a period 24 months. This, however, was not the first time. KEC International
KEC International
KEC International Limited is India's second largest maker of electricity transmission towers and one of the largest Power Transmission Engineering, Procurement & Construction companies in the world, headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It part of the RPG Group, engaged in laying of power...
has been laying power transmission lines in Egypt for more than 40 years. Recently, KEC International
KEC International
KEC International Limited is India's second largest maker of electricity transmission towers and one of the largest Power Transmission Engineering, Procurement & Construction companies in the world, headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It part of the RPG Group, engaged in laying of power...
was enganged in a contract for supply of overhead transmission towers for the Egypt-Jordan Transmission Line.
Investments
In 2011, Egyptian investment in India was at about USD 30 million. El Sewedy group, an Egyptian company, manufactures Electric meters in India. Another Egyptian company, Orascom Telecom, used to have 10% stake in the then Hutchinson-Essar which has since been boughtby Vodafone
The current Indian investment in Egypt stands at $2.5 billion in about 45 projects. Alexandria Carbon Black, the Alexandria Fibre Co., Dabur India's production facility for its cosmetics line, Niletex, Auto Tech Engineering, Marico's acquisition of two hair care brands and the Sanmar Group's acquisition of a unit of Trust Chemicals of Egypt represent some of the main Indian investments in Egypt. GAIL has equity and management stake in two gas distribution ventures in Fayoum and Cairo as well as in Natgas. In April 2007, OVL and its partner IPR Red Sea Inc. announced a significant oil field discovery in the North Ramadan Concession in the Gulf of Suez and reported a second discovery in November 2008, though these deposits were later found to be commercially unviable. In March 2008, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPC) signed a Concession Agreement for two oil and gas exploration blocks in Egypt. (The two exploration blocks are North Hap’y and South Diyur. N. Hap’y is an offshore block located in the Mediterranean Sea and S. Diyur is an onshore block located in the Western Desert.) GSPC subsequently acquired three more exploration blocks in the Red Sea region in 2010. Satyam Computers and Wipro have set up global delivery centers in Cairo. The Oberoi Group has been managing a hotel and Nile cruises; Kirloskar Brothers assemble diesel engines and irrigation pump sets in Egypt; Ranbaxy has an Egyptian subsidiary for manufacturing pharmaceutical formulations; Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra are marketing their vehicles in Egypt, and Bajaj Auto dominated the three-wheelers market.
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