India and Egypt

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• An Egyptian postage stamp commemorating the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations with India was recently issued.
• Egypt's acceptance of India's independence on August 18, 1947, barely three days after India's declaration of independence, marked the beginning of diplomatic relations between Egypt and India.
• A fast broadening and deepening bilateral relationship is strengthened and stabilized by expanding Egypt-India economic and commercial ties.

India-Egypt Relations

History:

• In the past, commercial connections between Egypt and India grew along the banks of the rivers Nile and Indus, which is when India's interactions with Egypt first developed.

• Under Nehru's direction: Jawaharlal Nehru of India and Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt co-founded the Non-Aligned Movement in 1955.
• Nehru stood up for Egypt during the 1956 War to the point of threatening to expel his nation from the British Commonwealth.
• Bilateral relations and the Friendship Treaty: The two countries grew further closer in the 1950s and signed the Friendship Treaty in 1955.
• The historically strong bilateral ties between the two nations have recently gotten a boost from the regular interchange of high-level meetings and contacts between the two sides.

Trade & Commerce:

• Egypt has long been among India's top trading partners on the continent of Africa.

• The Most Favoured Nation provision is the foundation of the bilateral trade agreement between Egypt and India, which has been in effect since March 1978.
• Raw cotton, made and unmanufactured fertilizers, oil and oil products, organic and inorganic chemicals, leather, and iron goods are among Egypt's main exports to India.
• Sesame, lentils, coffee, herbs, and cotton yarn are among the top Indian exports to Egypt.
• India also exports mineral gasoline, car components, ship, boat, and floating construction parts, frozen slices of boneless beef, and electrical machinery and components.
• India is widely represented in practically all fields in Egypt.

Technical and scientific fields

• In accordance with the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme, Egyptian applicants visit India (ITEC).
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of agricultural research was signed in 1998 by the ICAR and the Agricultural Research Center of the Ministry of Agriculture & Land of Egypt.

Cultural ties:

• In 1992, Cairo saw the establishment of the Maulana Azad Center for Indian Culture (MACIC).

• By implementing the Cultural Exchange Program, seeks to foster cultural collaboration between the two nations (CEP).
• In addition to teaching Hindi, Urdu, and yoga, displaying films, and promoting Indian culture, the Centre also hosts cultural events.
• The "India by the Nile" festival is a yearly cultural event in Egypt.
• In a language that combines various cultural and artistic threads, it captures the spirit of India through classical, contemporary, performing, and visual arts, gastronomy, and popular culture.
• The event is organized by M/S Teamwork Arts, a Delhi-based company, with funding provided by ICCR and the Ministry of Culture of Egypt.

The defence alliance:

• With recent events like the Indian Navy ship's trip to Egypt, a month-long air force drill, and the leader of the Egyptian air force's trip to India, it is being revitalized.

About NAM

• 120 nations that are not formally allied with or opposed to any major power bloc make up the forum.
• It is the largest federation of states in the world after the United Nations.
• Nearly two-thirds of the United Nations' members and 55% of the world's population reside in the nations that make up the Non-Aligned Movement.

Establishment:

• The Non-Aligned Movement was formally founded in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in 1961, building on the tenets outlined at the Bandung Conference of 1955.

Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence:

• Zhou Enlai and Nehru outlined the Panchsheel, or Five Principles, as a framework for Sino-Indian relations (five restraints).
• The Non-Aligned Movement would later be founded on these ideas.

The five principles are:

• Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
• Mutual non-aggression.
• Mutual non-interference in domestic affairs.
• Equality and mutual benefit.
• Peaceful co-existence.

Founders:

• It was the brainchild of Indonesian President Sukarno, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah, Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito, and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Achievement:

• The worldwide non-alignment policy made significant contributions to decolonization, disarmament, and the fight against racism and apartheid in South Africa.

• Throughout the duration of the Cold War, the movement remained.
• After the Cold War ended in 1992, efforts have been made to forge multilateral links and ties as well as unity among the world's developing countries.

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