By Manal Abdel Fattah
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with Mr. Jay Shankar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of India, on the sidelines of the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Kampala.
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesman and Director of the Public Diplomacy Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that Minister Shukri began the meeting by emphasizing the importance of exploiting the momentum resulting from the intensification of high-level visits between the two countries during the past year, indicating in this regard that these visits would support the implementation of The strategic partnership agreement between the two countries and pushing bilateral relations to broader horizons
In the same context, the two ministers agreed on the importance of establishing a working group to follow up on the implementation of existing Indian projects in Egypt, especially the projects that were launched in the field of green hydrogen, as Minister Shoukry stressed the great importance that Egypt attaches to enhancing its investments in this field, because of the priority it represents. For the Egyptian side. The two ministers also agreed on the importance of strengthening bilateral relations in a number of other fields, most notably the pharmaceutical sector, fields related to renewable energy, and the information technology sector.
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid added that the meeting also touched on a number of regional and international issues of common interest, including developments in the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and ways to advance truce efforts and reduce escalation between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, as the Indian Minister was keen to listen to Minister Shukri’s assessments regarding The current situation in the Gaza Strip, and he expressed his country’s appreciation for the efforts made by Egypt to put an end to this crisis and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.
In connection with the above, the Indian Minister expressed his country’s concerns regarding the developments taking place in the Red Sea region, noting in this context that a number of his country’s ships were targeted near the Indian coast, and that this matter has serious repercussions on international navigation, especially in light of India’s great interest. With international trade corridors, the extent of the impact and problem that India faces as a result of these developments increases. The Minister of Foreign Affairs said that all the recent developments in the Red Sea region and the South Asian region are an indication of the already widening of the conflict, which is what Egypt has repeatedly warned about since the first spark of the outbreak of the crisis in Gaza, and which requires putting an end to this crisis as soon as possible.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the two ministers renewed their commitment to working within the framework of the Non-Aligned Movement to achieve the common goals of the movement, as the multiple meetings that brought together the President and the Indian Prime Minister reflected a similarity in the development priorities and political positions of the two countries in pursuit of achieving peace and stability at the international level, as well as interest in The two countries discuss issues that are the top priorities of developing countries, which are scheduled to be discussed during the nineteenth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.
