The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India, hosted a high-level Egyptian delegation led by H.E. Prof. Dr. Ayman Bahaa El Din, Deputy Minister of Technical Education, for a pivotal round of deliberations at Kaushal Bhawan, New Delhi on 28^th April, 2025. This delegation was facilitated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) India and Egypt offices in close coordination with MSDE. This engagement marks another milestone in the ever-strengthening India-Egypt relationship, building on the momentum of the 2023 elevation of bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership and the recent recognition of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi with Egypt’s highest civilian honour.

Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, MSDE, highlighted the enduring people-to-people and institutional linkages between the two nations. He emphasized India’s vision to become the “Skill Capital of the World” through the Skill India Mission, under which already close to 400,000 individuals have already been trained in advanced domains such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and big data, while nurturing over 1.3 million entrepreneurs.

India’s efforts to align its vocational education and training (TVET) ecosystem with global standards, and the establishment of world-class Skill India International Centres, were presented as models for international collaboration.

The Egyptian delegation shared insights into Egypt’s comprehensive TVET ecosystem including the EU-supported TVET Egypt Reform Programme and the establishment of Sector Skill Councils, which resonate with India’s scalable and affordable skilling models.  

Looking ahead, the two countries identified several promising avenues for future cooperation. These include joint certification programmes, faculty and student exchanges, digital skilling and entrepreneurship initiatives, and the establishment of Centres of Excellence in priority sectors like information technology, agriculture, tourism, and green skills. Both delegations expressed a shared commitment to creating a globally competitive, future-ready workforce and to using their partnership as a template for broader South-South and triangular cooperation.

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Beena Yadav/Shahbaz Hasibi