Our country could join the Egypt-India coalition, since it maintains excellent relations with both countries, opening at the same time a very important cooperation path, that of the Indo-Pacific-Suez-Mediterranean-Aegean Sea-Balkans-Central-Eastern Europe and vice versa
It is a fact that Russia’s war in Ukraine, having destabilized the energy market and caused a food crisis, has “succeeded” in adding value to the Indo-Pacific-Suez-Mediterranean sea route.
Addressing these challenges requires transcending the boundaries of existing institutions and multilateral forms, which are often limited in their geographic reach or paralyzed by internal divisions.
Cooperation between France, Egypt and India could add an important new element to this web of multilateral forms
The potential for tripartite cooperation between France, Egypt and India stems from their converging geostrategic interests.
All three countries are maritime nations committed to maintaining the stability of the oceanic space that stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indo-Pacific.
They also share the same concern that rising geopolitical tensions could jeopardize such stability, as recently seen in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Straits of Hormuz.
Paris, Cairo and New Delhi are also collectively dealing with the aftershocks of Russia’s war against Ukraine, especially in the form of energy and food insecurity
There is a historical affinity between Cairo and New Delhi due to their self-proclaimed status as “culture states”, demographic hegemony in their respective regions, geographic centrality and geopolitical ambitions.
From their joint struggle for independence against the British Empire to the founding and leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement at the height of the Cold War, Egypt and India have long maintained close ties.
After Egypt’s transition from the Soviet to the American bloc following the 1978 Camp David Accords, bilateral relations cooled and did not live up to their potential.
Policy makers in Cairo and New Delhi, bilaterally or within an Indo-Abrahamic framework, are now aiming to revive them.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have met in person several times, maintain a friendly and cooperative relationship, and have shown a clear appetite for closer ties.
Both countries have recently increased their cooperation on various issues, including health, with Egypt supporting India during the pandemic, food security with India supplying wheat to Egypt, and security, with joint military exercises. Aviation.
The Defense Minister of India will pay a two-day working visit to Egypt for mutual discussions with Egyptian military officials focusing on the possibility of cooperation in defense industries and joint production.
There is reportedly Egyptian interest in the ATAGS towed howitzer, 155 mm/52 caliber and 60 km range with suitable ammunition, being developed for the Indian Army by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and manufactured by Bharat Forge, and Tata Power SED , as for the also towed Dhanush howitzer and this one with a range of 60 km
Indian interest in joint air exercises with Egypt
The Egyptian air force flies the Rafale and the Mirage-2000, both of French manufacture. These are planes owned by the Indian Air Force. It also has the F-16, as does India’s hostile Pakistan, which New Delhi is interested in dealing with.
Cooperation between the two air forces is also possible, while the two countries generally cooperate in conducting joint military exercises.
The Modi government has focused on the Middle East in recent years.
India and the UAE have built very strong ties and just recently, the US, the UAE, Israel and India joined a dialogue called the Quad.
India and Saudi Arabia also have good ties. Qatar is also a friendly country. There has also been some talk of Rajnath Singh visiting Oman, but the dates are yet to be fixed.
It is particularly important for India to have strong ties with the Middle East.
India imports about 80 percent of its oil, and much of it comes from the Middle East. Besides, many millions of Indians live and work in the Gulf countries.
From the above it is clear that Egypt-India are creating an axis of alliance and cooperation, having Turkey and Pakistan as their opponents.
Erdogan is the one who brought to the Eastern Mediterranean Pakistani warships and special forces of this country on the shores of Asia Minor, while fighters of this country participate in joint military exercises with Turkey, prominently the “Anatolian Eagle”
Also, Turkey took a position very clearly in favor of Pakistan and against India in the Kashmir issue, while Ankara is the one that constantly destabilizes Libya, which is in conflict with Egypt, causing huge problems in the Eastern Mediterranean and supporting the “Muslim brothers”, opponents of Egypt. President Sisi.
The common “denominator” and ally of both India and Egypt is Greece.
Our country could join the Egypt-India coalition, since it maintains excellent relations with both countries, opening at the same time a very important cooperation path, that of the Indo-Pacific-Suez-Mediterranean-Aegean Sea-Balkans-Central-Eastern Europe and vice versa .
The India-Greece partnership could be a win-win situation for both countries, especially Greece, which will have a new powerful ally like India to counter the Turkey-Pakistan alliance in the Aegean and SE Mediterranean, as we detailed in our article
Greece-Egypt relations are at their peak, since with Cairo we have partially delineated our EEZ west of the 28th meridian, while we jointly conduct numerous military exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean, with the cooperation of the two countries in energy matters being at epicenter.
Following these, Greece should join the Cairo-New Delhi coalition.
