Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Sunday conferred with the ‘Order of the Nile’, Egypt’s highest honour, by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi here. Instituted in 1915, the ‘Order of the Nile’ is conferred upon heads of states, crown princes, and vice presidents who offer Egypt or humanity invaluable services.
This is the 13th highest state honour conferred upon Prime Minister Modi. The ‘Order of the Nile’ is a pure gold collar consisting of three-square gold units comprising Pharaonic symbols.
They discussed ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries with a focus on improving trade and investments, energy ties and people-to-people connect. El-Sisi welcomed Modi, who is on a two-day state visit to Egypt, at the Presidential Palace where the two leaders were closeted for one-on-one meeting.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi signed an agreement to elevate India-Egypt bilateral ties to a “Strategic Partnership.” In addition, three Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the fields of agriculture, archaeology and antiquities and competition law were also signed between India and Egypt.
Modi also visited the historic 11th-century Al-Hakim Mosque in Cairo on Sunday, which was restored with the help of India’s Dawoodi Bohra community. He later paid tributes to Indian soldiers who fought the World War I in Egypt and Palestine at Cairo’s Heliopolis War Cemetery. This is the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in 26 years.
Modi began his maiden state visit to Egypt by holding discussions with his Egyptian counterpart Mostafa Madbouly. Seven members of the Egyptian Cabinet, led by Madbouly, were present at the meeting with Modi. This first official engagement was a meeting with the India Unit, a group of high-level ministers constituted by President El-Sisi in March to further enhance the relationship with India.
This is the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Egypt in 26 years. In a special gesture, Modi was welcomed at the airport here by Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly with a warm embrace.
