Egyptian President keen to learn from India's experience in tackling terror

CAIRO: Faced with a spurt in terror attacks, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has expressed keenness to learn from India's experience in dealing with the menace.

Sisi made this remark when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's special envoy Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi called on him here to invite the Egyptian leader for the Third India-Africa Forum Summit scheduled for October in New Delhi.

The two leaders discussed issues of mutual concern, including ways to counter terrorism, to boost bilateral ties.

"President Sisi commended the longstanding and distinguished relations that bind Egypt and India. He said Egypt is keen on further enhancing bilateral relations in various fields, commending India's experience in achieving political and economic progress," a statement from Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.

"On combating terrorism, the President noted that Egypt is interested in learning from India's experience in this regard, which the envoy welcomed," the statement added.

On his part, Naqvi asserted that India strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Egypt and stands firmly with Egypt in its efforts to fight terrorism in all its forms in order to be able to pursue the goal of comprehensive development.

Hundreds of Egyptian people, including over 600 security personnel, have been reported since the ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

During the meeting also attended by India's Ambassador to Cairo Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Sisi praised the special bilateral relation between India and Egypt, which has a historical depth, presidency spokesperson Alaa Youssef said.

Sisi praised the Indian experiences in achieving progress and advancement in political and economic fields, which put India among the emerging international powers that are capable of achieving high and fast growth rates, Youssef said.

Naqvi, also the Union Minister of State for Parliamentary & Minority Affairs, said the coming period will witness a number of visits by senior Indian officials to Egypt, in order to stimulate the bilateral ties between the two countries.

He praised the sound progress Egypt has made in terms of security, political stability and economic advancement.

Naqvi also met Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry yesterday and discussed the issues of bilateral interests.