sident Hosni Mubarak picked up the Jawaharlal Nehru award for international understanding on Tuesday, some 13 years after it was announced by India
NEW DELHI: India and Egypt have suddenly found each other after a gap of two decades or more. President Hosni Mubarak picked up the Jawaharlal Nehru award for international understanding on Tuesday, some 13 years after it was announced by India, giving an indication of low India was on Egypt’s list of priorities.
This is the first visit of an Egyptian president to India in the last 25 years. But having come here, Hosni Mubarak is being given the red carpet treatment by the Congress-led government, with an eye on Muslim votes for national elections early next year.
Egypt under Mubarak continued former president Anwar Sadat’s policy of making peace with Israel and having close ties with the US and its allies. Sadat was assassinated for betraying the Arab cause while reviewing a military parade. He was the first leader to break ranks with the Arab world. Others followed.
Mubarak rules his nation with an iron hand. His policy of befriending Israel and the US has spawned an Islamic movement that gives him the excuse of ruthlessly dealing with the opposition. Many of his political foes are languishing in jail. The jehadi forces have long been waging a war against Mubarak and his government. Suicide blasts are common and terrorism has become a major threat. “We underscored the need for concerted action against terrorism,” Mubarak said after talks with prime minister Manmohan Singh at Hyderabad House on Tuesday.
The two leaders signed five pacts, including an extradition treaty, and agreed to jointly combat terrorism. An agreement on scrapping visa requirements for diplomats, special and official passport holders and another on enhancing cooperation in medicine and health were signed.
“The visit has opened a new chapter in our relations. We have both agreed that conditions are ripe for transforming our relations to correspond to contemporary realities,” Manmohan told reporters.
The two leaders decided to upgrade ties and set up a strategic dialogue at the level of foreign ministers. “It is my firm belief that the time has come for India and Egypt to rekindle the special nature of our bilateral relations based upon the immense goodwill that exists between our two peoples,” the prime minister said.
g_seema@dnaindia.net
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