The third edition of the Indian textile exhibition in Egypt (INTEXPO EGYPT) began on October 1 at Cairo International Conference Centre which will run through till October 4 where 33 participating Indian companies will showcase their latest range of yarn and fabrics, which includes suitings, shirtings, dress materials, and embroidered fabrics/high fashion fabrics, furnishing, home textiles, scarves, stoles, shawls and yarns of man-made fibre and their blends.

The four-day exhibition is being organized by the Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) of India in association with the Embassy of India and with the active support of Cairo Chamber of Commerce (CCC).

There has been a partnership between India and Egypt for a very long time. There is also a very wide spread cooperation in textile. India use to import cotton from Egypt and export garments to it, said India’s Ambassador to Egypt, Sanjay Bhattacharyya during the opening of the exhibition.

The exhibition is held in a bid to strengthen the trade between the two countries, particularly in the fast growing area of modern textiles. India exported around $360 million worth of textiles and clothing products to Egypt during the year 2014-15.

India is world’s second largest producer of synthetic fibre & yarn, cotton, cellulosic fibre and silk and, Indian Man Made Fibre (MMF) textiles are currently exported to more than 140 countries. Indian textiles and clothing industry output is $110 billion, of which around $40 billion is exported.

Highly sophisticated and quality conscious European Union is the largest destination for the Indian exports of MMF textiles, which account for 28 percent of the total exports, followed by North & South America, Asia (21 percent each), Middle East (20 percent) and Africa (10 percent).

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in New York a few days ago during the United Nations’ 70th General Assembly. It was the first meeting and it was an excellent occasion for settling the course of both countries’ engagement in political, economic and cultural dimensions, Ambassador Bhattacharyya said.

One of the key points of discussion (between Sisi and Modi) was about the economic engagement and they discussed various aspects of Indian business interests in Egypt.

Srijib Roy, head of the Indian delegation said that they have come here not as competitors but as collaborators or partners. Their basic objective is to forge the win-win relationship between India and Egypt for effective forward and backward business linkages in the near future.

The exhibition is expected to draw a large number of trade visitors for fruitful business discussion with the Indian companies.