Land Of Pharaohs Awaits Indian Investors

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to Egypt from 14-17 November is therefore, by no means, an ordinary one. 

Both countries are keen to transform their millennia-old bond into an economic partnership that reflects the requirements of a modern era and gives wider access to each other. 

For India, Egypt can open doors to third countries in Africa, West Asia, and Southern Europe, given that Cairo has free trade arrangements with several and a geography that can give India access to a wider market, including the Mediterranean. 

Indian investments in Egyptian special economic zones (SEZs), both along the Mediterranean as well as the Red Sea, would give businesses a greater presence in the region.  

Current Economic Relations

The India-Egypt Bilateral Trade Agreement has been in operation since March 1978 and is based on the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) clause.  Egypt’s presence as a member in the BRICS grouping has already widened the scope of the partnership with India. 

Economic cooperation is the key pillar of the Strategic Partnership between India and Egypt. 

Over 700 Indian companies are registered in Egypt, of which around 70 are active in various sectors, with a combined investment exceeding US$ 5.5 billion. 

Major Indian investments in Egypt include TCI Sanmar (with a value of US$ 1.6 billion), Alexandria Carbon Black, Dabur India, Flex P Films, SCIB Paints, Embee garments, and Galaxy Chemicals. Indian companies are present in a range of sectors like apparel, agriculture, chemicals, energy, automobiles, retail and others. Overall, these companies provide direct and indirect employment to approximately 40,000 Egyptians.

Bilateral trade between India and Egypt was US$ 6.5 billion in FY2025-26. 

India’s main items of export to Egypt are petroleum products, engineering goods, chemicals, cotton yarn, buffalo meat, and drugs and pharmaceuticals. The main items of import from Egypt are petroleum products, inorganic chemicals, metallic and non-metallic compounds, and citrus fruits. 

India is the fifth largest exporter to Egypt, twelfth largest importer from Egypt, and sixth largest trading partner to Egypt. The newer areas of cooperation being targeted include startups, fintech, and the automobile supply chain industry. 

Over the past few years, more than 450 Indian companies have participated in business engagements, trade fairs, and exhibitions in Egypt. 

In September 2025, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Institute of Foundrymen (IIF) and the Federation of Egyptian Industries to collaborate in the realm of metallurgy. 

In December 2025, two such agreements were signed - an MoU between the Taj Group of Hotels and the Egyptian General Company of Tourism and Hotels (EGOTH) to manage the historic Intercontinental Hotel in Cairo, and the other between Zydus and GennVax in vaccine manufacturing with Indian technology. 

Egyptian investments in India amount to almost US$ 37 million, including the ElSewedy Group (smart electrometers); KAPCI Coatings (car paints), Modern Waterproofing Group/Bitumode (waterproofing membranes and protection boards for construction industry), and 700 Apps (IT services).

India’s grants-in-aid and capacity development projects in Egypt include Pan Africa Tele-medicine and Tele-education project in Alexandria University, Solar electrification project in Agaween village, and the Vocational Training Centre for textile technology in Shoubra, Cairo, which have been completed. 

An IT Centre in Al Azhar University, CEIT (Centre of Excellence in IT), has also been operational since February 2019 and has trained over 2,500 students. 

An Egypt Pavilion has been launched on the B2B digital platform MSME Mart (msmemart.com). The initiative aims to connect micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from Egypt and India, enabling them to explore trade opportunities, showcase products, and establish direct business partnerships for MSME enterprises.

A Special Rupee Vostro Account (SRVA), opened by SBI with Banque Misr, has been operationalised in June 2026 after the approval of the Central Bank of Egypt to facilitate bilateral trade by reducing transaction costs and enhancing the efficiency of cross-border settlements.

Investment Opportunities

The Egyptian government since 2015 had taken many steps to improve business regulations to make the market more attractive to investors through increased competitiveness, a range of incentives, and greater fairness to encourage private sector growth.

Driven by its economic vision, Egypt had achieved noteworthy success with its renewables strategy by building the largest solar park in Africa. Green hydrogen projects were also part of the renewables plan. New industrial parks and economic zones have been opened since 2015.

Significant opportunities are available in areas such as textiles, automobile manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, port infrastructure, and logistics. 

IT is a growth area of the economy in Egypt that could now boast 60,000 registered software developers. Engineering and technology expertise are highly efficient and competitive industries.  

The Egyptian government seeks to foster a competitive business environment that attracts investment by enacting monetary, financial, commercial, and procedural reforms. Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), in coordination with all the relevant investment entities in Egypt, is working to streamline procedures, enhance the business environment and facilitate communication between investors and government entities. 

Amid the geopolitical flux and geoeconomics uncertainties and instability in West Asia, the time is most opportune for India and Indian investors to build on bilateral strategic partnership and take opportunities presented Egypt. 

What is necessary is to appreciate that Cairo neither indulges in bloc politics nor imports religious ideology and takes pride in its civilisation and ethos like India and remains the Arab world’s most powerful military power seeking to take its ties with India to the next level. 

(The writer is a commentator on geopolitics and geoeconomics)