Egypt's president gives highest honour to visiting Indian PM amid improving ties

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Sunday bestowed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Egypt’s highest honour as the two countries tightened their partnership.

Sisi welcomed Modi at the presidential palace in Cairo with the Order of the Nile, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. The leaders signed a declaration elevating Egyptian-Indo ties to a “strategic partnership", which means the two nations agreed to intensify their cooperation and hold periodic talks, the statement said.

Egypt and India share deep ties that date back to the 1950s, when they played key roles in founding the Non-Aligned Movement, which had sought an alternative path at the height of the Cold War.

Modi, who arrived in Cairo on Saturday, is the first Indian prime minister to pay a state visit to Egypt in more than two decades. His two-day stop came six months after Sisi was in New Delhi as an official guest at India’s Independence Day.

Modi also invited the Egyptian leader to attend a summit of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing countries, which India will host in September.

Following his talks with Sisi, Modi visited a historic mosque, Cairo's Al Hakim, which was recently renovated with the help of the India-based Dawoodi Bohra community. He also paid tribute to Indian soldiers who died in World War I and are buried in the Heliopolis War Cemetery in Cairo.

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Modi arrived from the United States, where he held talks with President Joe Biden and top administration officials, addressed the Congress and met with top American executives.