New Delhi-Cairo Trade Reaches EGP 4.5 Bln: Indian Embassy

Dr. Vinod Bahade, Charge d'Affaires of India to Egypt said: "the Egyptian-Indian Trade reached EGP 4.5 billion last year by 23% increase compared to EGP 3.61 bln in the previous year."

He added: "the coming period will witness visits by a large number of Indian trade delegations to Egypt, within the framework of the great progress witnessed in the bilateral relations between the two countries, especially in the economic field."

Bahade told See that there is multifaceted cooperation that includes the defense and security progress based on mutual interests. 

He also revealed that more than 126000 Indian persons visited the Egyptian Islamic destinations in 2018.

In a press conference held today at the Indian embassy in Cairo, Bahade said: "the non-operationalization of Article 370 related to Kashmire and Jammu aims to deliver good governance and promote socio-economic justice. "Article 370 of the Indian Constitution is an internal matter of Indian citizens."

"At the time of the inclusion of the constitution, Article 270 was deemed as a temporary provision as explicitly stipulated in the constitution." Said Bahade He went on saying: "the provisions of Article 370 were found to be discriminatory on the basis of gender, socio-economic groupings, and place of origin, and thus incompatible with the fundamental rights and directive principles enshrined in the Indian constitution

He pointed out that in the absence of opportunities for economic advancement and well-being, the youth for Jammu and Kashmir were misled onto the path of extremism.

Article 37 was applied to promote vested interests. It created a separatism climate despite the opposition of people at large, according to the charge d'affaires of India to Egypt.

The separatist political forces established linkages with terrorist groups. This atmosphere encouraged practicing cross-border terrorism.

"The defense of the security and stability of Jammu and Kashmir has cost more than 40,000 lives," said Bahade.

He confirmed that the Indian government is handling the situation in Jammu and Kashmir with maturity and restraint despite the efforts of vested interests to incite violence in the state. The restrictions imposed in the state are being relaxed gradually based on the assessment of law and order situation, according to Bahade.