On January 11, 2022, Ambassador Dr. Ezzat Saad, ECFA Director, and Ambassador Mohamed Hegazy, member of ECFA Board of Directors, received Mr. Asheesh Gupta, Deputy Ambassador of India to Cairo, along with the First Secretary of the Embassy, to consult on a proposal submitted by the India Foundation to organize the first edition of the “India – West Asia and North Africa (WANA)” conference, in cooperation with the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, under the slogan “Reconnecting Roots for Shared Prosperity.”
The Indian guest stressed the importance they attach to relations with Egypt, noting the achievements these relations have realized in terms of trade exchanges ($7.26 billion) and the volume of investments ($3.2 billion), as well as the imminent opening of the Information Technology University in the 10th of Ramadan City. He added that they are looking forward to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s visit to India on January 26, 2023, expressing their confidence that it will be a historic visit with a great impact on the overall relations between the two countries. The guest pointed out that the “India Foundation” is affiliated with the ruling Indian “Bharatiya Janata Party”, and that it is coordinating with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian government to launch the first edition of the aforementioned conference. He also noted that in light of the ongoing cooperation between the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and its Indian counterpart, which is part of the organizational structure of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry’s opinion has concluded that ECFA will be the partner of the India Foundation in organizing and hosting the first edition of this conference.
He stated that the conference will serve as a platform for consultations and discussions among researchers and experts from various think tanks from Egypt, Algeria, Djibouti, Libya, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Jordan and Tunisia, in addition to the India Foundation delegation, which includes researchers from India and its neighbours, to discuss issues of interest to the concerned countries, namely: Civilizational ties; Deepening cooperation for regional security; Trade and investment for sustainable development; Technological and digital cooperation in order to promote socio-economic development; Enhancing relations through Maritime Connectivity; and supporting communication among peoples through health, education, culture and tourism. The two sides agreed to hold the conference during the first week of March or the first half of May of this year, subject to agreeing on the financial burdens and providing the necessary funding in this regard.