This article covers India's development partnership with Egypt and cooperation in defence, security, health, energy, agriculture, science and space. It is based on the MEA brief of April 2026, which describes grant projects, training programmes and a range of Joint Working Groups at senior official level.

Grant projects and capacity development

According to the MEA brief of April 2026, India's grants-in-aid and capacity development projects in Egypt include three completed projects:

  • the Pan Africa Tele-medicine and Tele-education project at Alexandria University
  • a solar electrification project in Agaween village
  • a Vocational Training Centre for textile technology in Shoubra, Cairo

An IT Centre at Al Azhar University, the Centre of Excellence in IT (CEIT), has been operational since February 2019 and, as of the brief, has trained over 1500 students.

The Egyptian El-Sewedy group signed an MoU with Amity University in June 2023, and courses in machine learning, AI, robotics and quantum mechanics began in September 2023. India's National Institute for Electronics & IT offers online and offline courses to Egyptian students through ITI Egypt in fields such as 3D printing and forensics.

Training under ITEC

As of the brief, over 1500 Egyptian officials have benefited from the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme and other Indian training programmes.

Defence cooperation

The brief describes defence exchanges between India and Egypt as close, and records the visits of more than 50 defence delegations to Egypt in the last 3 years. In November 2022, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh visited Egypt and met President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and the Defence Minister. An MoU on Defence Cooperation was signed by the two Defence Ministers.

Most current defence cooperation is determined by the activities of the Joint Defence Committee (JDC). Starting in 2006, ten JDC meetings have been held alternately in each country, followed by exchange activities. The 10th round was held in New Delhi in July 2024.

In December 2025, the Chief of the Air Staff paid an official visit to Egypt at the invitation of Egyptian Air Vice Marshall Saqr. Indian defence companies have regularly taken part in EDEX, Egypt's flagship defence exhibition. In the edition held in December 2025, a delegation of 30 Indian public and private sector defence companies participated.

Exercises

  • Army: the third edition of Exercise Cyclone, a joint exercise between the Special Forces of India and Egypt, was conducted in February 2025 at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan.
  • Navy: two officers from the Egyptian Navy took part in the Multilateral Indian Naval Exercise MILAN-2024 in February 2024.
  • Air Force: the IAF and EAF took part in the 8th Tactical Leadership Programme from 26 November 2024 to 27 December 2024 at Cairo West Airbase. The IAF Sarang Display Team took part in the 1st edition of the Egypt International Air Show in September 2024.
  • Tri-service: the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force took part in the multilateral exercise 'Bright Star-2025' in August / September 2025 with more than 700 personnel, which the brief describes as the single largest foreign contingent.

The brief also notes that Egypt is a major transit hub for Indian aircraft and naval vessels travelling to or from overhauls and military exercises in the European region and the Atlantic.

Counter-terrorism and cyber issues

The 4th round of the Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism was held in Cairo on 30th April 2025. After the brief, the 5th meeting was held in New Delhi on May 20, 2026. The 1st Joint Working Group on Cyber Issues was held in New Delhi in December 2016.

Health and pharmaceuticals

Mr. J.P. Nadda, the Minister of Health & Chemicals & Fertilizers, paid an official visit to Egypt in November 2025. He met Prime Minister Madbouly as well as several key members of the Cabinet and industry leaders.

The brief lists three health-related Joint Working Groups:

  • the 1st JWG on Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, held virtually on 14 March 2022
  • the 1st JWG on Health & Medicine, held virtually on 11 April 2022
  • the second round of the JWG on Health, held virtually in September 2025

Energy, agriculture, science and space

The First Joint Working Group on New and Renewable Energy was held virtually in March 2025. The 1st JWG on Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries was held virtually on 25 October 2022.

The 5th round of the Joint Committee Meeting on S&T was held virtually in October 2021, focusing on agriculture, nanotechnology, biotechnology and renewable energy. In space, the 2nd ISRO-NARSS JWG was held in Cairo in November 2017.

Digital technology

Mr. Rafaat Hindy, Egypt's Minister of IT & Communication, attended the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi in February 2026.