The Facts
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to Egypt over the weekend to meet Egyptian Pres. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo for a rare visit, during which both sides pledged to deepen ties and "signed a joint declaration to elevate relations to a strategic partnership."
Modi said that he hopes India, Egypt's seventh-largest trading partner with $7B in trade last year, will increase its trade with Egypt to $12B annually. Before the visit, Egypt offered a potential "dedicated land area" for Indian industries in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
The Spin
Narrative A
Modi's visit to Egypt was a timely gesture to mark the country's growing ties. Egypt and India are both facing similar obstacles, and both Modi and Sisi have had similar tracks in politics. The Indian-Egyptian relationship will reap positive benefits for both countries, as the warm reception Modi received has shown the mutual desire for growth and cooperation.
Narrative B
Besides the fact that Egypt is a repressive dictatorship under Sisi, it is poorly run, and its economic prospects are only going down. Inflation has been raging as food prices skyrocket. Sisi has been making desperate moves to fix the nightmare he has created, such as looking for foreign investment. However, the writing is on the wall: the future of Egypt under Sisi is not bright, and no amount of photo ops with Modi can change that.