Tag : Egyptian

Manish Rai* Kabul (The Hawk): Ambassador Ajit Gupte a senior diplomat from Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is currently serving as the Indian Ambassador to Egypt. We are presently witnessing a deepening of Indo-Egyptian ties as was evident from the recent visit of Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to New Delhi as the Chief Guest of 74th Republic Day of India. In an exclusive interview with Manish Rai, Editor, ViewsAround (VA) at the Indian Embassy in the Egyptian capital Cairo, Ambassador Gupte spoke on various aspects of Indo-Egyptian trade, security, military and strategic relations. Question- If you could please throw some light on the historical and civilizational links between India and Egypt? Answer- India and Egypt are among the oldest civilizations in the world and have had maritime contacts for over 4,000 years. It has been said that some of the essential oils used in the process of mummification were imported from India by the ancient Egyptians several thousand years ago. During the recent visit of President Sisi to India in Jan 2023, Prime Minister Modi said that the excavations at the ancient port of Lothal (which is located in the Indian state of Gujarat) showed evidence of trade relations between India and Egypt, which are at least 4,000 years old. In the 20th century, the leaders of our freedom struggle Mahatma Gandhi and Saad Zaghloul inspired each other. Egypt was one of the first countries with whom India established diplomatic relations after gaining independence. Our diplomatic relations were established within just three days of India getting independence in 1947. There was a special personal friendship between President Gamal Abdel Nasser and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, which is fondly remembered in Egy ...