The far-reaching significance of inviting Egypt’s President for Republic Day

India has changed a lot in the last fifty years, and yet one factor in its long journey has remained almost constant: Its tradition of following a non-aligned foreign policy. The same has been spelled prominently again through the extension of invitation to Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as chief guest for Republic Day.

Earlier, similar invitations were sent to the UAE (Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2017), the ASEAN leaders (in 2018), South Africa (Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019), and Brazil (Jair Bolsonaro in 2020) by Narendra Modi government. On the back of it, this year’s invitation to President Sisi signifies a not-so-hidden agenda of forming an alliance of countries not willing to follow the diktats of either of the new poles of the New Cold War, the US-West in one side and Russia-China on the other. This is continuation of India’s role in Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) of the old Cold War days.

The Sisi-Modi Summit is all the more significant because of Egypt’s growing importance at a time when the Middle East is being coalesced to form a West Asian system in which Israel is playing a pivot. With India playing a greater role, it is shaping up into an Indo-Abrahamic Alliance.

Meanwhile with India, Israel, the United States (US), and the (UAE) a quadrilateral framework I2U2 has been formed. Though it includes the US, mainly for economic reasons, it is more of a regional nature that subtly addresses security issues too.

According to reports, Israel and India would provide the UAE with Barak 8, a co-produced air defense system. It will simply tantamount to arming the UAE to defend itself against possible Iranian attacks using cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones. This can be described as a preparedness of countries who want to shun belligerence, be it Iran or Russia or China.

The presence of the US will guarantee further security to the regional forum. In its earlier avatar during the Cold War days many non-aligned nations were close to the USSR, in a changed geopolitical and geoeconomic context, the third pole will be close to the US and the West as Russia and China emerge as villain of peace in the New World Order.

Herein comes the importance of Egypt, a bridge between West Asia and Africa, and also between Africa and the Mediterranean. It can be a formidable force, if economically and militarily strengthened, against both Iran and Turkey, the countries which are taking recourse to some unconventional means to assert them. Egypt is also emerging as a key Mediterranean power thank to its gas geopolitics, the Suez Canal, and its leading role in Africa.

It is also important to note that Egypt too has, at last, decided to play a role that goes far beyond strategic conservatism, Egypt is sending signals—by supporting the Abraham Accords, by becoming a member of the Negev Forum, and by having Israel in the Cairo-based East Mediterranean Gas Forum—that it is now all set to take up a leader’s role like it took in the days of NAM.

On the other hand, India for the time being enjoys the presidency of G20, and it is likely to use it to shift the focus on the Global South, the vulnerable part of the world, particularly in the face of Climate Change that threatens the world and compels it to move towards sustainable development and measures to mitigate the damages done. Egypt, though much less powerful economically, can become an important political ally of India in this effort in the long run as it has close links to both West Asia and Africa.

India-Egypt combination thus can be two key countries in the fight for development and climate finance for the Global South, and can play as a link between the developed world and the developing countries. Neither India, nor Egypt is economically very powerful, but both have played an important political role in the past and can play it again in the future. After all they are not like China that wants to dominate the whole world by its military might and economic prowess, all in the garb of a developing country.

However, to make a strong bond to create a sort of a new and effective NAM, India and Egypt should have a close bilateral ties, as at the end it is self interest—both economic and military—that is the driving force for forging proximity. It is reported that during President Sisi’s visit to Delhi, Egypt and India may finalise certain deals like the proposed sale of India’s 70 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft to Egypt. It is a win-win situation for both, as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is likely to set up production and manufacturing facilities in Egypt.

All together, invitation to Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as chief guest for Republic Day has far reaching possibilities. How the relation will unfold is to be seen, but that the effort has begun is of immense significance.