Egypt's tourism industry hoping for post-poll relief

A walk around the streets of the Egyptian capital around 2 a.m. on a Saturday, the second day of the Egyptian national weekend, showed shisha cafes, bars and restaurants bustling with activity. In Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast, the streetside kerbs remain busy with people chatting over cups of mint tea and coffee late into the night.

India is Amitabh, Amitabh Bachchan is India (Egypt Diary)

It's known that Amitabh Bachchan is popular in Egypt but the extent of this can only be gauged when an Indian lands in Egypt, the land of pyramids and one of the world's oldest civilisations, just like India.
 

Egypt looks to army again for salvation

Weary of a political turmoil that never seems to end, Egyptians are now again awaiting with anticipation the election of a new president next month following the ouster of Mohamed Morsi, the first democratically elected president of the country, in July last year.

'I feel completely at home in India'

India and Ethiopia established diplomatic relation in 1948. In the almost seven decades of close ties, the two countries have expanded their cooperation to several areas. The Northeast African country now wants India to share its knowledge and technology for development. Ambassador Gennet Zewide, who has been in India for eight years, spoke exclusively to India Africa Connect in a 25-minutes interview in Ethiopian Embassy established in 1948, one of the oldest chanceries in New Delhi's Diplomatic Enclave, and said she feels "completely at home in India".

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'If women play a greater role in conflict resolution, you would have more peace'

She walks into the room with sinuous grace in a striking gown of African weave. Forceful, articulate and ambitious, Samia Nkrumah is clearly Ghana's face of the future and the person of whom The Huffington Post once said "The new Mandela is a woman." The daughter of Ghana's first President Kwame Nkrumah and today the chairperson of the party he founded, Ms Nkrumah, recently in Italy as part of the international jury for arcVision Prize 2014 for women architects, took time off to speak to Vaishna Roy of her vision for Ghana and for Africa.

‘India’s success in polio eradication is a model to the world’

Tomorrow, India will be given poliofree certification by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Southeast Asia wing. Dr Nata Menabde, WHO representative to India, spoke with Rohit E David on the steps India took to eradicate the deadly polio virus, how the country must guard against it resurfacing – and who deserves credit for this remarkable accomplishment:

Should the military have a say in governance?

In 1992, the Indian Army chief, General Sunith Francis Rodrigues, had to apologise to parliament for suggesting that the armed forces had a stake in India's governance.

Huge opportunities await Indian health investors in Africa

At the just concluded 10th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa project partnership, the High Commissioner of Nigeria, Ndubuisi Amaku, gave an interesting bit of information. He said Nigerians last year spent around $350 million to access healthcare in India.

India must note Morocco's important role in Africa and Middle East

My previous blog on foreign minister Salman Khurshid's recent visit to Morocco had raised some eyebrows regarding the utility of such a trip. Several readers have questioned the minister's north African tour - Khurshid also visited Tunisia and Sudan - at a time when he is about to demit office. However, such an analysis fails to appreciate the current situation in Africa and the Middle East, and the role being played by Morocco in regional affairs. Indeed, I predict that Morocco will also play an increasingly pivotal role in the days ahead - not only in terms of promoting socio-economic stability in the Sahara and Sahel regions, but to help actualise an international plan to broker peace in the Middle East.

Morocco, modern Islam, and the future of Africa

In the wake of unprecedented Islamist explosions and attacks across North Africa, the foreign ministers of 19 countries - including France and much of North Africa - launched an equally unprecedented response. Meeting in Morocco's capital Rabat last November, they vowed to pool their intelligence efforts against the Al Qaeda and its fellow travellers. Their agreement, known as the Rabat Declaration, creates a counter-terrorism intelligence fusion centre and formalises its plans to share secret reports on terrorists. This is a major blow against Al Qaeda's North African affiliates, which have long exploited intelligence gaps among neighbouring nations.