India and Egypt on Tuesday agreed to “work together to combat terrorism” and signed an extradition treaty. Stating that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s visit to India after 25 years had opened a “new chapter”, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said they would “make up for the lost time” by establishing a “strategic dialogue”.

Calling Mubarak a “great statesman” and a “highly respected” world leader, Singh sought to “rekindle” the relations between the two nations. “The establishment of a strategic dialogue at the level of the two Foreign Ministers reflects our intention to upgrade our relations,” he said.

According to the joint declaration signed by the two countries, the two leaders decided to establish a mechanism for a strategic dialogue at the level of External Affairs Minister or their representatives to “revitalise the current mechanism for regular political consultations” on bilateral, regional and international issues.

“Such dialogue could be held either at the respective capitals or on the sidelines of multilateral fora. The two sides also agreed to institute a security policy dialogue at the relevant level. Whenever necessary, expert committees or working groups could be constituted under this mechanism by mutual consent,” the joint declaration said.

Meanwhile, Mubarak called for “coordinated action” to tackle the global financial crisis. “The crisis required that all countries, developed and the developing, move on two fronts. The first is to address the immediate recessionary pressures in the world economy. Related efforts need to be coordinated across nations and aimed in developing countries towards the less privileged in our societies,” he said.

... contd.