Sisi heads to India amid investment push

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will visit India on Wednesday to participate as the chief guest at celebrations of India’s Republic Day on 26 January, upon an invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This reflects the close ties between the two countries and India’s deep appreciation of the Egyptian leadership and government, a statement from the Egyptian presidency said on Tuesday.

During his visit, al-Sisi scheduled to meet with a number of officials in India, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and other officials in order to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations at all levels.

In addition to that al-Sisi will also meet with heads and representatives of a number of major companies in various domains to discuss mechanisms for consolidating economic ties between the two sides and investment opportunities in Egypt.

Egypt is trying to drum up foreign investment as it tries to manage a dollar shortage that has led to a sharp depreciation of the Egyptian pound.

Cairo has also been seeking to forge political and trade ties beyond its traditional alliances with the United States and European powers, including in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.