New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday received a warm welcome in Cairo when a saree-clad Egyptian woman sang the famous song “Yeh dosti hum nahi todenge” from Bollywood hit movie “Sholay”.
The video was shared by BJP IT Department in-charge Amit Malviya.
“These saree clad girls, welcoming the Prime Minister in Cairo, aren’t Indians but Egyptians. One of them even sang a melodious Hindi song. When your host go the extra mile to reflect the cultural sensibilities of your country, it is often a reflection of your rising eminence,” Malviya tweeted.
In the video, the woman can be seen singing ‘ye dosti hum nahi todenge’ from 1975 hit starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, and Amjad Khan.
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After the woman sang the song, Modi clapped for her.
Later the Egyptian Jena said: “I’ve never been to India before. I’ve been singing Indian songs since I was like six years old. So it’s like 11 or 12 years. It was so good to meet PM Modi. He told me that we look like we are from India. There’s no difference.”
She added, “It was so good. Like, when I saw him smiling and I think he loved what I did. So I was so honoured to meet him.”
Landing in Cairo on two-day state visit after completing his US state visit, he was received at the Cairo Airport by his Egyptian counterpart Mostafa Madbouly.
This is Modi’s first state visit to Egypt and the first trip by any Indian Prime Minister in 26 years.
Visits by Indian PMs to Egypt
Since the 1980s, there have been four Prime Ministerial visits from India to Egypt.
Rajiv Gandhi visited the country in 1985, PV Narasimha Rao in 1995, IK Gujral in 1997, and Manmohan Singh in 2009.
From the Egyptian side, President Hosni Mubarak visited India in 1982, in 1983 (NAM Summit), and again in 2008.
High-level exchanges with Egypt continued after 2011 and then President Mohammad Mursi visited India in March 2013.
External Affairs Minister (EAM) visited Cairo in March 2012 and the Egyptian Foreign Minister visited India in December 2013.
Even during the Russia-Ukraine conflict which had threatened Egypt with a shortage of wheat, 80 per cent of which is imported from Russia and Ukraine.
On April 14, 2022, Egyptian Cabinet announced the inclusion of India in the list of accredited countries which can supply wheat to Egypt, thus ending a long pending Non-Tariff Barrier.
India cleared shipment of 61,500 metric tons of wheat to Egypt on May 17, 2022.
