SubscriberWrites: How PM Modi’s diplomatic outreach can turn out to be a masterstroke

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INDO-EGYPT-A sneak peek in the PAST and the PRESENT

Egypt and india share opulent histories and the ties between the two can be traced back to times during the Ashoka’s rule. Post independence, in the midst of the rocky ambience of cold war and inter- bloc rivalries , the relationship between the two sides has stood the test of time be it unrelenting partnership to the cause of NAM or, unbeknownst to the common mass , the blockage of portugese naval reinforcement across suez canal by Egypt during “Operation Vijay” of liberating goa from the shackles of portugese colonization.

In the present scenario , where Egypt is witnessing an economic turmoil and has approached the IMF 4th time in 6 years for an economic bailout , india is steadfast on it’s path of becoming the 5 trillion economy. Besides this, both countries echo similar concerns in tackling the menace of radical elements with sisi pushing hard against ISIS and the muslim brotherhood who had drawn the wrath of Egyptian locals due to their extremist policies while they were in power in the capacity of “freedom and justice party” post hosni Mubarak ouster in 2011-12.

Also, with Egypt having stable relationship with Israel in the present times, the indo-egypt alliance is devoid of any possible rift or clash of interest and can bring a lot to the table of mutual prosperity.

 THE R- Day development

In the midst of all the celebrations, an event that caught the eye were talks in regard to providing india with a chunk of land in suez canal economic zone. The development if matures to fruition can turn out to be a total game changer in times to come. With the Haifa port in Israel acquired by the Adani group and the Suez canal section in hand, india can steer the course of local and global economy along one of the busiest trade routes across world.

 To put things in perspective, approximately 12% of global container traffic traverses the Suez. On  an average , 50 ships traverse the canal daily carrying cargo worth anywhere between USD 3-9 billion!! It was here in 2021 that “EVERGIVEN” ship got stuck for 6 days badly hitting the global economy and supply chain. All of Europe will get lucrative offer of better and fare trade prospects across this region with india owning critical supply routes thereby prospering  the respective economies.

Beyond the Suez

If india were to strive for better bilateral harmony with countries like Greece and France to acquire a port in the Mediterranean sea, it shall help build a “ Golden triangle of prosperity” encompassing the Haifa and the suez canal economic zone. Now the question arises, why only Greece and France?

Primarily, both countries are important players in the Mediterranean sea region and india shares flourishing relations of varying degree with both of them. However, one nation that stands out happens to be Greece as of now and there are concrete reasons for the same.

Why Greece??

Greece has been battling with economic stagnancy for a long time post the great recession in 2009 and has been searching for diverse avenues for attracting foreign investments which also includes the port cities where Greece has intensified efforts for privatization since the last 5 years. Realising the strategic importance of the same, many big players like USA, Russia ,Israel and china have already started competing for grabbing this opportunity. With Chinese company, Cosco having secured 2/3rd of majority stake in the largest port of Piraeus, india needs to up the game and secure deals like the adani group did in the deal for the Haifa port with stiff competition from Chinese company for the same.

Secondly, turkey, especially during the Erdogan era has been incessantly pressing the cord of Kashmir in solidarity with Pakistan to project itself as the voice of the Islamic world. With the treaty of lausaane reaching its term of expiry in near future , this propaganda is likely to increase. Greece, on the other hand has shared life long enmity with turkey  with both countries coming face to face very recently over sovereignity and related rights in the aegan sea region. India can leverage this dispute for extending it’s geopolitical interest by diversifying co-operation with Greece in defence , socio- economic frontiers that shall bring turkey on level playing field of global diplomacy.