PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron lauded deepening security and diplomatic ties with Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Tuesday.
Macron stressed how Egypt was a vital partner in the fight against extremism in the Middle East and Europe, as well as key in the search for lasting political solutions in war-wracked Libya and Syria.
“The first battle that we have in common is the fight against terrorism,” Macron said during a joint press conference, which underlined their common purpose against extremists, which have claimed hundreds of victims in both countries.
Cairo is fighting the Egyptian branch of Daesh in the north of the Sinai Peninsula and has faced a series of attacks that has affected its vital tourism industry.
At least 16 Egyptian police officers were killed at the weekend in an ambush by Islamist fighters in the country’s western desert in a rare flare-up outside the Sinai.
Egypt is a major buyer of French military equipment with orders worth more than €5 billion ($5.8 billion) since 2015.
Those deals were negotiated by former Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian who is now foreign minister in Macron’s government.
Earlier on Tuesday, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Europe 1 radio France would discuss the possible sale of more Rafale aircrafts with El-Sisi during his visit.
Under the previous government, France had concluded several major military agreements with Egypt, including the sale of 24 Rafale combat aircraft, a multi-mission frigate and two Mistral warships in contracts worth some €6 billion.
The 2015 Rafale contract — the first export contract for the jet — included the option of selling another 12 aircrafts.
“If there can be new contracts, so much the better…” said Le Maire, when asked by Europe 1 radio to comment on reports that the sale of the extra 12 aircrafts was on the table but that his ministry was reluctant because of the payment terms asked for by Egypt.
“It is normal that Bercy (the French finance ministry) would want to make sure Egypt should be able to pay its plane orders,” Le Maire said.
Macron lauds deepening security ties with Egypt
Macron lauds deepening security ties with Egypt
India, Arab League target $500bn in trade by 2030
- It was the first such gathering of India–Arab FMs since the forum’s inauguration in 2016
- India and Arab states agree to link their startup ecosystems, cooperate in the space sector
NEW DELHI: India and the Arab League have committed to doubling bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, as their top diplomats met in New Delhi for the India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
The foreign ministers’ forum is the highest mechanism guiding India’s partnership with the Arab world. It was established in March 2002, with an agreement to institutionalize dialogue between India and the League of Arab States, a regional bloc of 22 Arab countries from the Middle East and North Africa.
The New Delhi meeting on Saturday was the first gathering in a decade, following the inaugural forum in Bahrain in 2016.
India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said in his opening remarks that the forum was taking place amid a transformation in the global order.
“Nowhere is this more apparent than in West Asia or the Middle East, where the landscape itself has undergone a dramatic change in the last year,” he said. “This obviously impacts all of us, and India as a proximate region. To a considerable degree, its implications are relevant for India’s relationship with Arab nations as well.”
Jaishankar and his UAE counterpart co-chaired the talks, which aimed at producing a cooperation agenda for 2026-28.
“It currently covers energy, environment, agriculture, tourism, human resource development, culture and education, amongst others,” Jaishankar said.
“India looks forward to more contemporary dimensions of cooperation being included, such as digital, space, start-ups, innovation, etc.”
According to the “executive program” released by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the roadmap agreed by India and the League outlined their planned collaboration, which included the target “to double trade between India and LAS to US$500 billion by 2030, from the current trade of US$240 billion.”
Under the roadmap, they also agreed to link their startup ecosystems by facilitating market access, joint projects, and investment opportunities — especially health tech, fintech, agritech, and green technologies — and strengthen cooperation in space with the establishment of an India–Arab Space Cooperation Working Group, of which the first meeting is scheduled for next year.
Over the past few years, there has been a growing momentum in Indo-Arab relations focused on economic, business, trade and investment ties between the regions that have some of the world’s youngest demographics, resulting in a “commonality of circumstances, visions and goals,” according to Muddassir Quamar, associate professor at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
“The focus of the summit meeting was on capitalizing on the economic opportunities … including in the field of energy security, sustainability, renewables, food and water security, environmental security, trade, investments, entrepreneurship, start-ups, technological innovations, educational cooperation, cultural cooperation, youth engagement, etc.,” Quamar told Arab News.
“A number of critical decisions have been taken for furthering future cooperation in this regard. In terms of opportunities, there is immense potential.”
