The meeting was attended by Engineer Moustafa El Sayyad, Deputy
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Saad Moussa, Undersecretary of the Agricultural
Research Center for Research and Studies and Supervisor of Foreign Agricultural
Relations, and Rav Praveen, Commercial Attaché at the Embassy.
The Minister of Agriculture highlighted the trade exchange
relations in the agricultural sector, including the access of Egyptian
agricultural exports to the Indian market, such as citrus and grapes. He also
noted the ongoing efforts by the Indian side to finalize the export of Egyptian
pomegranates to the Indian market as soon as possible, in addition to olives
and strawberries.
Farouk stressed the importance of joint ventures in
manufacturing solar-powered water and irrigation pumps. He invited Ambassador
Reddy to visit the "Future of Egypt for Sustainable Development"
project to observe advanced land reclamation and water rationalization
technologies.
Ambassador Reddy emphasized cooperation between agricultural
research centers in both countries, proposing joint research projects and an
action plan to prioritize collaboration. He also suggested virtual meetings for
joint working groups to identify key areas of interest.
Reddy called for increased joint investment, including
establishing a seed production factory in Egypt to serve as a hub for African
markets and fostering partnerships in African agricultural sectors.
The ambassador invited Farouk to lead a technical and private sector delegation to India. The visit would focus on learning about India's agricultural policies, modern farming techniques, micro-agricultural lending systems, and meeting with Indian agricultural companies.