By IANS,
New Delhi : India and Egypt will hold a Track II dialogue Tuesday as the two countries seek to redefine an old relationship following a new elected government in Cairo earlier this year.
The dialogue could be the prelude to a visit here by new Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, who came to power after the peaceful revolution in the north African country.
The Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), a government supported think tank, and the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFA) are participating in the daylong conference to discuss the present realities and future prospects of bilateral ties – two traditional Afro-Asian allies that worked closely together in the fifties and sixties and were among the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement.
A four-member ECFA delegation headed by Ambassador Dr El-Sayed Amin Shalaby, executive director ECFA, is in India to participate in this conference. Eminent Indian diplomats and academics will participate in this conference to discuss several strategic, political and economic issues of common interest.
The present dialogue between two think tanks is being organised as part of the MoU signed between ICWA and ECFA at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2011. This event is taking place at a time when Egypt, along with other nations of the region, is passing through a phase of social and political transformation. Both sides are expected to discuss the future prospects of ties in the backdrop of the changes taking places in the region in general and in Egypt in particular.
Apart from discussing the bilateral relationships and the Arab Spring, the dialogue will also deliberate upon the evolving world order and its impact on the region.