Delhi silent on Egypt crisis

With Egyptian protests gathering momentum,New Delhi has chosen to remain silent on the situation within the country,with which it says it has civilizational links.

While there hasnt been any official reaction from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA),official sources on Friday said India would be a voice of moderation and was watching the situation carefully.

Hosni Mubarak,against whom the demonstrations have been building up calling for his ouster,paid a state visit to India in November 2008 and had been conferred the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding for the year 1995.

The award that was announced during former Prime Minister the late P V Narasimha Raos regime was given to him by President Pratibha Patil.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met him in July 2009 as he participated in the 15th NAM Summit held in Sharm EI-Sheikh,where the now famous joint statement between India and Pakistan took place.

According to an official,India and Egypt enjoyed an exceptionally close relationship during the Nehru-Nasser era,and signed a Friendship Treaty in 1955. The birth of the Non-Aligned Movement was,inter alia,the outcome of this relationship.