PM Modi to visit 11th Century Al-Hakim mosque during Egypt tour

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the 11th Century Al-Hakim mosque, restored with the help of the Dawoodi Bohra community, during his first visit to Egypt this week.

The prime minister will also go to the Heliopolis War Cemetery to pay tributes to the Indian soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice for Egypt during World War 1.

Modi's two-day state visit to Egypt from June 24 at the invitation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister since 1997.

Before meeting El-Sisi, the prime minister will hold deliberations with the India Unit, a group of high-level ministers constituted by the Egyptian president to boost relations with India.

Addressing a press conference here, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said there has been an “intense level of ministerial engagement" between India and Egypt, which is also home to a small Indian community.

Prime Minister Modi is also scheduled to interact with the member of the Indian community in the north African nation.

Kwatra noted that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav had travelled to Egypt recently.

"We have had, similarly, at least three to four ministers from the Egyptian government who have visited India," he said, adding that the Chairperson of the Suez Canal Authority was on a visit to India.

Kwatra said the high-level exchanges clearly showed the extent of very sharp focus that both India and Egypt were placing on strengthening all aspects of their relationship.

Prime Minister Modi will meet President El-Sisi and oversee the signing of various Memoranda of Understanding and agreements on that day.

Kwatra noted that the Grand Mufti of Egypt Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam was on a visit to India last month.

The foreign secretary noted that India has invited Egypt as a special guest during its G20 presidency.

Kwatra said PM Modi's "very quick reciprocal visit" to Egypt was taking place within six months of President El-Sisi's visit to India.

"We are confident that the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Egypt will not just ensure continuing momentum to the relationship between our two countries, but will also help it expand to new areas of trade and economic engagement between our two countries," Kwatra said.