Pranab Mukherjee on three-day visit to Egypt

India and Egypt will hold wide ranging talks to strengthen bilateral relations during the three-day visit of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Cairo.

India and Egypt will hold wide ranging talks to strengthen bilateral relations during the three-day visit of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Cairo beginning on Tuesday.

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Mukherjee, the first External Affairs Minister to visit Cairo in seven years, will hold discussions with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul Gheit on several issues, including international trade talks, energy security and bolstering economic and business relations.

India was Egypt's fourth largest trade partner and largest importers of Egyptian products last year.

The Middle East peace process, UN reforms, bilateral, regional and global issues will come up for discussions in Mukherjee's meetings with the Egyptian leadership.

Mukherjee's talks with Gheit are also expected set the stage for the visit of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to India later this year.

"The visit is expected to reinforce and diversify the strong and deep-rooted bilateral ties between India and Egypt," an External Affairs Ministry statement said.

Bilateral trade between India and Egypt touched $2.3 billion last year.

Egypt will host the 25th Non-Aligned Movement Summit in July next year.