Today is a special day as we celebrate 77 years of India becoming Republic. During this period, it’s noteworthy that a country which had a rich civilisation and heritage but limited resources has become the 4th largest economy in the world. Today it’s rightfully considered to be a critical driver of global growth and stability, in an increasingly contested world. As this article goes to press, the India – EU FTA, what some call the “Mother of all deals” would have been concluded and announced, reflecting the belief the world has in India.
The world congratulates Egypt on its success in 2025 – for the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit – India was proud to partner and our Minister of State for External Affairs had representended India and on the inaguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum – a gift to not only people of Egypt but of all humanity. Again India was happy to share this moment of pride with our Minister of State for Tourism particpating in the inaguration. The people of Egypt need to be again congratulated on the elections to the Senate and the House of Representatives. A historic moment indeed when the people articlated their support for the government and its policies.
I lived in Egypt in the early 90’s and since then our relations have expanded many fold under the personal guidance of President
Abdel Fattah El Sisi and PM Narendra Modi. The year 2025 has been significant for our bilateral relations during which we witnessed many high level exchanges including the visit of the Multi Party Delegation and of Dr J.P
Nadda, Minister of Health and Chemicals.
Reflecting the depth of our Strategic Partnership and as true partners in combating terrorism, the personal call made by President Sisi to PM Modi condemning the heinous terrorist attack in Pahalgam was welcomed by the people of India, who have been the victims of the menace of terrorism. India and Egypt also initiated the historic Strategic Dialogue at the level of Foreign Ministers. The Operation Brightstar was a big success with the Indian contingent of 750 soldiers, 10 aircrafts and a ship being the largest contingent in Operation Bright Star. Indian firms supplied vital technology to the GennVax, the largest Vaccine Manufacturing facility of the region and proud that the first API plant is also being built on Indian technology.
The year 2025 also saw new investments being added to the over 60 Indian factories with many more in the pipeline. The Indian companies have already invested close to US$5billion and are committed to support the government’s policy of “Made in Egypt”. They are already exporting over US$1 billion from Egypt and are scaling up to make Egypt an export hub for the region and beyond. We are proud of our companies in Egypt and the value addition they do to the local economy. They employ over 50,000 and and form an important pillar in our relations. Indeed, if we say, India is growing , it’s because of the private sector. They deserve to be applauded and appreciated.
On the cultural front, we had organised the Glimpses of India Festival in partnership with Ministry of Education. An event in which we saw India through the eyes of the more than 29 thousand Egyptian students who had particpated from 23 governorates. I believe that this could be the largest activity ever by any Embassy in Egypt over the years.
The 2025 was as the year India firmly established itself as a global pole of growth, stability and innovation. As the world witnessed unprecedented challenges, India continued its growth tragectory. The GDP achieved a growth rate of 8.2 per cent and exports reached a record US$825 billion.
The growth is anchored in infrastructure. Our infrastructure is no longer “catching up” – it is setting the pace with annual expenditure exceeding US$130 billion. We are building almost 120kms of highways everyday, launched 122 new paseenger trains in 2025 and commissioned over 900kms of new railway tracks.
We are also building digital highways connecting the rural to the future. In 2025, UPI, Indias digital payment system processed a staggering 228 billion transactions making it the largest and most people friendly digital payment system by far. India also launched the 64-bit Processor (Dhruv64), dual-core microprocessor, while the QpiAI-Indus, a 25-qubit superconducting quantum computer, was also launched in April.
It’s significant that India met its COP26 climate targets five years ahead of schedule. India added 49 GW of renewable energy in 2025 taking the total to 254GW of renewable energy. India has proven that a developing nation can lead the world in the “Green Transition” without sacrificing industrial growth.
The year 2025 also saw impressive strides being made in domain of space with successful testing of Vyommitra, humanoid robot, paving the way for the upcoming manned Gaganyaan which will have Indian astronauts in space.
I believe the future is brighter, espcially for our bilateral relations – as partners in BRICS, as a large economy joining hands with a dynamic economy and as partners in realising peace in the region and beyond.
