External affairs minister S.M. Krishna on Sunday met the Egyptian leadership and established first contacts with the Muslim Brotherhood that is set to dominate the post-Mubarak political landscape of the country.
On a three-day visit to Egypt, the first by a senior Indian leader after last year’s revolution, Mr Krishna met the head of current military-led government, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Prime Minister Kamal Al Ganzhoury as well as his counterpart Mohamed Kamel Amr.
Mr Krishna thanked Mr Tantawi for the “extraordinary cooperation” extended by Egypt in evacuating more than 3,000 Indians from eastern Libya last year, and the protection extended to major Indian investment projects during the unrest.
However, the most significant meeting was with Mohamed Morsy, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm the Freedom and Justice Party, that has emerged as the largest force in the first post-Mubarak Egyptian Parliament.
With the Brotherhood appearing set to dominate the political landscape of Egypt, Mr Krishna’s meeting with its political wing’s leader can be seen as part of efforts to achieve a smooth transition in ties with the new dispensation in the country. While India had fair ties with the Mubarak-era regime, the meeting with Morsy would help Krishna understand the expectations of the Islamists-led new political regime that is now expected to hold sway over the country’s policies.
On his part, Mr Morsy told Nr Krishna that India is “a very important friend” of Egypt and “can play a major role in the future”.
Mr Krishna and his counterpart also signed several agreements, including an MoU on cooperation in the field of environment protection, cultural exchange programme for the next three years and a work plan for agricultural cooperation.