Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, met with Jagat Prakash Nadda, India’s Minister of Health, Chemicals, and Fertilizers, along with Suresh K. Reddy, India’s Ambassador to Egypt, and a delegation of Indian company representatives to discuss cooperation and joint investments in the petrochemicals and mining industries.
The meeting took place during the Indian delegation’s visit to Egypt to participate in the third edition of the World Conference on Population, Health, and Human Development.
Badawi reviewed the progress of the partnership between Egypt and India, particularly following the launch of the first round of the Egypt-India Strategic Dialogue in October. He highlighted Egypt’s efforts to boost domestic fertilizer production through the establishment of new plants to enhance food security, noting that this opens new opportunities for trade exchange with India. Badawi pointed to the potential of establishing joint ventures across petroleum and mining activities, from exploration to manufacturing and exports, targeting Indian, European, and African markets.
Nadda affirmed India’s keenness to enhance cooperation with Egypt, especially in the fields of petrochemicals and phosphate fertilizers, as part of India’s efforts to ensure food security. He added that Indian companies are interested in expanding cooperation with the petroleum sector and exploring additional areas of partnership in Egypt.
Egypt has been intensifying efforts to capitalize on its mineral wealth, especially phosphate, to shift from exporting it as raw materials to producing high-value-added phosphoric acid and other fertilizers. In June, agreements were finalized to start the construction of the phosphoric acid production complex at Abu Tartour in the New Valley with the target to produce 250,000 tons per year of high-grade commercial phosphoric acid in the first phase.
Reddy reiterated India’s desire to deepen cooperation, noting that dozens of Indian companies are already operating in Egypt. He expressed the Indian delegation’s interest in concluding long-term cooperation agreements. The parties agreed to form a joint working group to explore ways to deepen trade and industrial cooperation between Egypt and India.
Source: egyptoil-gas.com