Egypt and India are discussing settling payments in local currency

The Ministry of Finance is considering encouraging the use of national currencies to settle payments between Egypt and India

Dr. Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance, discussed ways to encourage the use of national currencies to settle payments between Egypt and India, and to enhance Indian companies’ benefit from the incentives and benefits that Egypt provides to the private sector to expand its participation in economic activity through the “State Ownership Policy Document” and the “Government Proposals” program. And simplifying procedures through the “golden licence” that grants the project one approval for its establishment, operation and management.

Diversifying funding sources

 The Minister of Finance, during a meeting with the Indian Ambassador to Cairo, Ajit Gupte, stressed Egypt's keenness to diversify sources of financing and enter new financial markets, through innovative, diverse and more sustainable tools.

3.5 billion yuan

The meeting discussed the possibility of heading to the Indian financial markets after successfully issuing sustainable “Panda” bonds in the Chinese financial market, worth 3.5 billion yuan, and “Samurai” bonds worth 75 billion Japanese yen.

Maait explained that the meeting also discussed the possibility of exchanging experiences in the fields of financial inclusion technology and India’s support for the comprehensive health insurance project, which contributes to providing comprehensive and integrated health care for all members of the Egyptian family.

This comes within the framework of the two countries’ keenness to enhance bilateral cooperation in various development fields, and to enhance the cooperation of the countries of the “Global South” in confronting the global economic challenges resulting from the war in Europe and the subsequent rise in food and fuel prices and financing costs.

This comes within the framework of the two countries’ keenness to enhance bilateral cooperation in various development fields, and to enhance the cooperation of the countries of the “Global South” in confronting the global economic challenges resulting from the war in Europe and the subsequent rise in food and fuel prices and financing costs.

Solar energy

India is Egypt's third largest trading partner, and India's experience in the field of solar energy has been useful, and this was clearly demonstrated by the Egyptian-Indian partnership in establishing the Benban Solar Farm project in Aswan, which is now the largest group of solar power plants in the world.

Bilateral trade

The volume of bilateral trade reached an all-time high of 75% in 2021-2022, reaching US$7.26 billion and also continued to grow in 2022-2023.

About 50 Indian companies have huge investments in Egypt with a total value of more than 3.2 billion US dollars in several sectors, including chemicals, energy, cars, retail trade, clothing, agriculture, and others, noting that these companies generally provide direct job opportunities for approximately 38,000 Egyptians.

There are many of these companies planning to expand their investments by pumping cumulative investments amounting to 800 million US dollars in Egypt, and many Indian companies have also expressed interest in developing green hydrogen and green ammonia projects in Egypt. He said that three leading Indian companies have signed memorandums of understanding with the Egyptian government worth 18 Billion US dollars.

It is worth noting that Egyptian-Indian relations have witnessed great development during the past period in all political, economic, scientific and cultural fields, as both sides are keen to strengthen bilateral relations by intensifying high-level visits between the two countries.