India and Egypt enjoy close defence cooperation and it has been one of the focus areas of bilateral relations between the two nations. The three-day visit by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Egypt from September 18 saw the two sides explore new initiatives to bolster bilateral defence ties.
The visit saw the inking of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide further impetus to enhance defence cooperation between the two nations.
Defence cooperation between the two sides flourished in the sixties and seventies and has since grown from strength to strength. One of the high points of Indo-Egypt Defence cooperation was the training of Egyptian pilots by Indian Air Force pilots, and a joint venture to manufacture the famous Helwan-300 (Kahira) jet fighter. Over the years, the two countries have worked together on a number of mutually beneficial projects in various field of military cooperation especially training.
Ahead of his visit, Defence Minister Singh had tweeted “Tomorrow, 18th September, I would be in Cairo, on a 3 day visit to Egypt. Looking forward to holding discussions with my counterpart, General Mohamed Ahmed Zaki to further strengthen defence cooperation between both the countries.”
During the visit the two sides reviewed the bilateral defence ties, explored new initiatives to intensify military-to-military engagements and focus on deepening cooperation between the defence industries of the two countries. Singh also called on the President of Egypt Mr Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
The Defence Ministry in a statement said that the visit aimed to further consolidate defence cooperation and the special friendship between India and Egypt.
Defence Minister Singh held bilateral talks with Minister of Defence and Defence Production, General Mohamed Zaki and they reviewed the bilateral defence ties, explored new initiatives to intensify military-to-military engagements and focus on deepening cooperation between the defence industries of the two countries. An MoU to provide further impetus to enhanced defence cooperation between India and Egypt was also signed.
The defence and security ties between India and Egypt have been on an upswing in the last few years. The Indian Air Force participated in a month-long tactical leadership programme in Egypt from June 24 with three Su-30 MKI jets and two C-17 transport aircraft. Last month, the government said in Parliament that Egypt is among six countries which showed interest in India’s Tejas aircraft. Tejas, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments. In February last year, the defence ministry sealed a Rs 48,000 crore deal with HAL for the procurement of 83 Tejas light combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The March 1998 visit by the Indian Chief of Air Staff to Egypt boosted Defence cooperation as various proposals to enhance Defence cooperation were mooted by both sides. Formation of Joint Defence Committee (JDC) was one such proposal. It was decided that a Joint Defence Committee be constituted which should visit both countries to identify areas of Defence cooperation and suggest specific proposals for collaboration in areas of joint production. The Indo-Egypt JDC was set up in Aug 2006 and its inaugural meeting was held in Cairo in Aug 2006. Five such meetings have been held so far between the two sides.
The sixth meeting of Indo-Egypt JDC was held in New Delhi in April 2016. A four member Egyptian delegation led by a senior officer of the Egyptian MoD visited India and held discussions with officials of the Indian MoD. During the JDC meeting, areas to enhance bilateral Defence cooperation were identified and discussed in great details. Various activities to be undertaken to boost the Defence ties were also finalized during the visit. The Egyptian delegation called on senior officers of the Indian Armed Forces and paid visits to important Defence installations.
– The writer is a senior journalist and media consultant. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda.
