CAIRO - 15 May 2026: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held talks with India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on the sidelines of the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting, as Cairo seeks to deepen industrial cooperation and attract more Indian investments.
During the meeting, Abdelatty highlighted Egypt’s efforts to position itself as a regional manufacturing and export hub for Indian companies targeting African, Arab, and European markets, citing the country’s broad network of free trade agreements and strategic geographic location.
The Egyptian minister also reviewed investment opportunities in sectors including manufacturing, logistics, and energy, alongside incentives offered through the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
The discussions come as Egypt and India move closer to activating a local currency trade mechanism between the Egyptian pound and Indian rupee. India’s Ambassador to Cairo Suresh K. Reddy recently said technical negotiations between the two countries’ central banks had reached advanced stages, with the agreement expected to enter into force later this year.
According to Reddy, the mechanism is designed to ease pressure on foreign currencies and facilitate trade flows between the two countries.
The ambassador added that bilateral trade currently stands at around $6 billion, while Indian investments in Egypt have reached nearly $5 billion, concentrated in manufacturing, clean energy, and food industries.
Reddy also revealed growing interest from Indian pharmaceutical companies in using Egypt as a production and export base for African markets, while Indian firms are studying potential phosphate production projects in Sokhna and the New Valley.
Abdelatty and Goyal also discussed preparations for the eighth session of the Egyptian-Indian Joint Committee and efforts to establish a joint chamber of commerce aimed at expanding trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.
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