Egyptian - Indian diplomatic and trade discussions

The political consultation session between Egypt and India started today in headquarters of the Foreign Ministry under the chairmanship of Nagi El-Ghatrifi, assistant foreign minister for Asian affairs, and his Indian counterpart, R.C. Calaha, who is currently visiting Cairo, and with the attendance of the two countries' ambassadors to one another.

The two sides are discussing over two days bilateral relations in different fields, especially means of supporting the Egyptian - Indian trade in light of the trade deficit, which reached $56 million for 1997 - 1998.

Discussions will deal with means of attracting Indian investments to Egypt which are currently valued at $330 million through 32 companies inside Egypt that work in the fields of textiles, detergents, cars assembly and the free zone projects.