Morsi wants India to join Suez Canal corridor project

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March 19, 2013
morsiNew Delhi, Mar 19: Egypt Tuesday pushed for India to join its ambitious Suez Canal corridor project as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi met here for talks to forge closer cooperation in economic and other fields.

Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president who came to India after a day-long visit to Pakistan, said he welcomed India's contribution in the Suez Canal corridor project that is aimed to become a bridge connecting Africa with Asia.

Speaking to the media after a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Morsi said the corridor project once ready would make Egypt a hub for India's exports to the West and boost Indian exports to $200 billion.

The 190-km corridor project aims to turn the Suez Canal banks into a global economic zone and earn billions of dollars in revenue for Egypt. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has offered to invest Euro one billion in the project.

Morsi said in his talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh both sides had agreed to reinforce bilateral relations in various areas, including political, economic, military, cultural and tourism and "agreed to promote ties till they reach the level of strategic partnership".

India offered to share its experience in the field of IT, renewable energy, services, electronics, small and medium enterprises, manufacturing and fertilizers. Both sides inked seven agreements, including five MoUs, in the field of cyber security, Information Technology.

India is setting up a solar energy project in a village in north Egypt and also setting up a centre of excellence in IT at the well known Al Azhar University.

Morsi, who is facing troubles back home with a court ordering cancellation of the April 22 parliamentary elections, thanked India and its people for support for his country post the 'Arab Spring' revolution two years ago.

He said bilateral trade, despite the political tumult in his country, had grown to $5.5 billion, growing $2.5 billion in the past one year alone. Morsi, who has brought along a high-level delegations comprising seven minister-level officials and top business heads, said Egypt was keen to attract more Indian investment.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India "deeply appreciates" the fact that Morsi has undertaken a state visit to India despite his pressing domestic commitments. "This is a reflection of his personal commitment to our relationship," he said.

The prime minister conveyed India's full support to Morsi and "offered to share our experience as he ably leads his nation in building strong institutions and frameworks for democracy, social justice and inclusive economic development".

He said Egypt's location "as a bridge between Asia and Africa, astride a major global trade route, together with its skilled human resources, makes it an attractive business destination for India".

Both sides have agreed to foster productive partnerships in socio-economic development programmes, skill development, higher education, agriculture and health care and also agreed to enhance defence exchanges and cooperation.

On Palestine, Manmohan Singh conveyed India's support to the Palestinian cause and expressed deep appreciation for the role played by Egypt in trying to forge unity between the Palestinian groups - Hamas and Fatah -- and work towards a peaceful resolution.

On Syria, both sides condemned the violence and agreed on the urgent need for a peaceful resolution of all issues through dialogue.

Both sides also agreed to intensify efforts on issues that affect developing countries, and increase coordination in various international forums, including the United Nations, G-77 and the Non Aligned Movement.

India and Egypt are founders of the Non-Aligned Movement and the two countries shared a very close relationship till the sixties during the time of Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Egyptain President Gamal Abdel Nasser. But the relationship cooled off thereafter and the 30-year rein of previous president Hosni Mubarak were not marked by close ties.

Morsi has been keen to take Egypt's foreign policy away from its pro-West orientation and shift the focus back to Asia and the developing world.

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News Network
July 12,2020

Hyderabad, Jul 12: Hyderabad MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday condemned the demolition of a mosque and a temple inside the Secretariat building. He demanded the arrest of the contractor for demolition.
"During the process of demolition of the Secretariat building in Telangana, the mosque and temple were also demolished. The contractor must be booked and should be arrested. The public should know that we condemn this," he said while speaking to news agency.
Pointing out that his party MLAs Akbaruddin Owaisi and Moazam Khan have urged the state Assembly to look into the matter, he added, "We are not against the building of a new Secretariat, but what we asked for is not to destroy these structures during the process."
He welcomed the Chief Minister's announcement regarding the rebuilding of these structures.
"We expect the mosque to be built in the exact same place where it once stood. We expect the Chief Minister to speak to the representatives and meet our expectations and emotions about the mosque," he added.

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Agencies
February 10,2020

New Delhi, Feb 10: The government is set to privatise Central Electronics Ltd, a CPSE under the Department of Science and Technology, by selling its 100% stake with management control and has invited the Expression of Interest for the same by March 16.

The selected bidder will be required to lock in its shares for a period of three years during which it cannot undertake the sale of its stake in CEL, the PIM (Preliminary Information Memorandum) said.

"The government of India has 'in-principle' decided to disinvest 100 per cent of its equity shareholding in CEL (which is equivalent to 100 per cent of the total paid up equity share capital of CEL) through Strategic Disinvestment with transfer of management control (Strategic Disinvestment or Transaction)," DIPAM, the Disinvestment Department, said.

The process for the transaction has been divided into two stages, namely, Stage I and Stage II.

After BPCL and Air India, this is yet another CPSE which government is slated to privatise if it gets offers from bidders.

The government has set a challenging target of Rs 2.1 lakh crore disinvestment proceeds from CPSE sell-offs and IPOs, OFSs (Offer for sale) in the next fiscal and it going out all guns blazing to meet that target after revising this fiscal target of Rs 1.05 lakh crore to Rs 65,000 crore.

The Interested Bidders (which can also include employees of CEL) must have a minimum net worth of Rs 50 crore as on March 2019. DIPAM has released complete invitation Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) of CEL. Resurgent India Limited is the advisor to the Transaction.

CEL is a pioneer in the country in the field of Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) with the distinction of having developed India's first Solar cell in 1977 and first Solar panel in 1978 as well as commissioning India's first solar plant in 1992.

More recently, it has developed and manufactured the first crystalline flexible solar panel especially for use on the passenger train roofs in 2015.

Its solar products have been qualified to International Standards IEC 61215/61730. CEL is further working on development of a range of new and upgraded products for signaling and telecommunication in the railway sector.

In the SWOT analysis of the CPSE, DIPAM has stated under weakness that "the company has weak financial loss due to past losses, high manufacturing cost and non payment of dues by state nodal agencies affecting the financial position of the company".

The CPSE has adequate land for expansion, the SWOT analysis said adding "the CPSE faces threat of dumping of solar cells at very low rates which makes solar PV manufacturing industry unviable".

Entry of new players in the market for solar products and railway signalling systems also is cited as a threat.

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News Network
January 7,2020

New Delhi, Jan 7: The government has asked public sector undertakings to dissuade their employees from participating in the 'Bharat Bandh' called on Wednesday and advised them to prepare a contingency plan to ensure smooth functioning of the enterprises.

Ten central trade unions have said around 25 crore people will participate in the nationwide strike to protest against the government's "anti-people" policies.

Trade unions INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF, UTUC along with various sectoral independent federations and associations had adopted a declaration in September last to go on the nationwide strike on January 8.

"Any employee going on strike in any form, including protest, would face the consequences which, besides deduction of wages, may also include appropriate disciplinary action," said an office memorandum issued by the government.

"Suitable contingency plan may also be worked out to carry out the various functions of the ministry/department," it added.

It also issued instructions not to sanction casual leave or other kind of leave to employees if applied for during the period of the proposed protest or strike and ensure that the willing employees are allowed hindrance-free entry into the office premises.

The instructions issued by the Department of Personnel & Training prohibit the government servants from participating in any form of strike, including mass casual leave, go-slow and sit-down, or any action that abet any form of strike.

Besides, pay and allowances are not admissible to an employee for his absence from duty without any authority.

The central trade unions are protesting against labour reforms, FDI, disinvestment, corporatisation and privatisation policies and to press for a 12-point common demands of the working class relating to minimum wage and social security, among others.

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