New Delhi: Crediting President Trump for his role in stopping the war and the Sharm Sheik agreement, Ambassador of Egypt to India Kamel Zayed Kamel Galal in a recent press interaction in New Delhi said, “America had a very important role in bringing peace between Egypt and Israel. They're very crucial. They're important player and the role of President Trump to halt the war with whatever instrument is laudable.”
Notably Egypt is a signatory to the 'Board of Peace' initiative by US President Donald Trump. Answering questions of the various aspects of this initiative, Ambassador Galal said, “I think President Trump made an important development ever since he came when he put his leverage behind stopping the wars. We are pushing now to move to stage two of UN Security Council resolution 2803. This is one of the major effort to bring back peace to the Middle East. Egypt will always be key to bringing peace to the Middle East.”
On Egypt’s relations with Pakistan vis a vis India When asked about relations with Pakistan particularly in the context of terrorism emanating from Pakistan in the background of the Pahalgaon terror attack, Galal said, “Our relations with Pakistan are based on the principles of partnership. We do not fall into any alliance with anybody or against anybody. We are for collaboration and for cooperation.”
He further said, "Egypt was among the forefront of countries that have been hurt by terrorism…… So nobody can tell us about terrorism, we can give lessons about terrorism and what we went through and what countries go through. It is all about non state actors that try to use certain situations in countries in order to radicalize the population. We are against terrorism."
On Nobel Prize for Trump Addressing media queries on reports linking global peace efforts to personal political ambitions, including speculation around a Nobel Peace Prize, Ambassador Galal said such matters were not for Egypt to judge. “We do not give the Nobel Prize to anybody. Whether we support or do not support such aspirations does not make a difference,” he said. He emphasised the importance of stopping the war and the killing machine, rather than focusing on presumptions.
On facilitating and increasing tourism opportunities The Egyptian envoy said, “We have relaxed the procedures for Indians to go to Egypt. Now Indians who have Schengen visa or US visa can get a visa upon arrival at Cairo airport. They can come directly to the embassy or can also apply for an E visa, which is very easy for Indians, in Delhi or the Consulate in Mumbai. It will be processed in a day. We now have direct flights. Two flights from Delhi and another from Mumbai. So nine weekly flights from Egypt and India.”
On trade and on International Maritime Economic Corridor Ambassador Galal said, “Those who say that Egypt has certain dismays about the IMEC because it represents another route that tried to exclude the Suez Canal, let me say that the Suez Canal cannot be excluded. 12% of international trade goes through the Suez Canal. Nobody can take this risk. But we must look at the idea of a trade network instead of a trade corridor. It will open other routes for trade with Africa, Europe and the Arab world, given that we do have free trade agreements with all those countries. So we will not be only providing Indians with 100 million Egyptian market but will bring 2 billion new coming, whether its in Africa, or Europe, Turkey, or UK.”
He said trade between India and Egypt has a potential of being at $30 billion per year. Efforts were underway to raise bilateral trade to $12 billion from the current level of $5 billion.
On Strategic Partnership & Regional Security The Ambassador highlighted that Indian leadership understands Egypt's position on regional issues in the Middle East, noting that the two countries' views are largely aligned.
On Defence A 14-day joint military exercise, ‘Cyclone 2025’, between India and Egypt commenced on January 22, 2026, at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan. The two governments are also working on co production.
