Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Twitter/@narendramodi
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January, the Ministry of External Affairs said in November. This comes at a time when both countries are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year.
This is the first time that an Egyptian President will be the chief guest on Constitution day, making it an opportunity to expand the ambit of cooperation beyond the scope of conventional bilateral ties.
Indo-Abrahamic Alliance
The Sisi-Modi meeting comes at a very crucial time, especially in the Middle East’s history as the region merges with South Asia in order to build a West Asian system. The Indo-Abrahamic Alliance is a new, little-noticed geostrategic alliance of Sunni Arabs i.e. the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, and Israel.
The Indo-Abrahamic Alliance was formed in the I2U2 itself where India, Israel, the United States (US), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) came together to establish a quadrilateral framework, addressing issues such as economy and security. The I2U2 sponsored the Abraham Accords normalisation agreements and the Negev Forum between Israel, Bahrain, and the UAE- to build informal ties as well as the recent geostrategic rapprochement.
Egypt’s cautious support of the Indo-Abrahamic Alliance
It should be noted here that Egypt’s Suez Canal which connects the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific has strengthened its position as a ‘geopolitical and economic’ hub on the western coasts.
Egypt has been embracing the new geostrategic alliance in West Asia, which is contrary to its traditional history of being conservative. Cairo has extended its support by acknowledging the Abraham Accords, joining the Negev Forum, Israel in the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, and even establishing closer ties with Israel by going beyond their traditional ties.
Additionally, Cairo, which is considering ways to soften its credentials on all levels and Saudi Arabia and the UAE becoming more visible in the region along with being financially independent, Egypt by supporting the Indo-Abrahamic Alliance has a clear advantage.
Sisi-Modi Summit–new opportunity on the horizon
India has pursued bilateral ties with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE via various formats, including the I2U2 and the France-UAE-India trio format. With its support for the strategic partnership, Egypt has become New Delhi’s fourth main pillar in the alignment.
Considering Egypt’s dominance in all four strategic ties–The Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, Africa, and West Asia, Caira has become a key partner for India. India also believes that Cairo might act in coordination with Paris in order to “address transnational concerns affecting the transoceanic space from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indo-Pacific.”
According to the journal “India and the Asia-Pacific Balance of Power”, India can emerge as one of the important poles, considering its qualitatively improving economic and strategic bonds with the region. Thus, it is clear-headed about establishing an India-driven pole on the global platform instead of just choosing sides in an era of strong power competition.
India can emerge as one of the important poles
The third pole could be an alignment of regional, as well as a middle power with the same national as well as global interests. In the middle of the last century during the Cold War, India has had strong relations with Egypt as both countries shared similar struggles against British occupation, their history and the involvement of their leaders.
Egypt’s then-President Gamal Abdel Nasser and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru led the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM). Even to this day, both countries continue to face similar cold war-like situations with Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, and Washington and Brussels soured ties on the other hand. Thus, the two countries’ cooperation would strengthen the efforts to establish the India-driven pole.
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