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.

Describing his talks with Mubarak as “extremely productive”, held in a “spirit of great friendship and warmth”, Singh said: “This visit has opened a new chapter in our relations. We have both agreed that all the conditions are ripe for transforming our relationship to correspond to contemporary realities. We have agreed to make up for the lost time and to elevate our relations to a level that reflects our mutual strengths and complementarities.” The agreements signed between the two countries included extradition, cooperation in space, health and medicine, trade and technical cooperation and diplomatic visa.