External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday held separate telephonic talks with his counterparts from Egypt and Israel with a focus on further expansion of bilateral ties. Following his talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Jaishankar said he was looking forward to taking the bilateral ties to “even greater heights”. “Very pleased to greet FM Sameh Shoukry of Egypt in the New Year. This year is special, marking 75 years of our diplomatic relationship. Look forward to working together to take it to even greater heights,” Jaishankar tweeted. Shoukry and his Indian counterpart Jaishankar discussed continuing to boost and expand bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Shoukry congratulated Jaishankar on the occasion of the New Year, a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry read. The two ministers affirmed the keenness to boost joint work and continue furthering bilateral cooperation in various fields. They also highlighted the necessity to continue coordinating stances on regional and international issues of mutual concern. Egypt has been one of India’s most important trading partners in Africa. In the financial year 2020-21, India was Egypt’s eighth largest trading partner in the financial year, according to the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). India was also the 6th largest importer of Egyptian goods. During FY 2020-2021, bilateral trade between the two countries reached $4.15 billion. Referring to his conversation with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, the external affairs minister said that the discussion focused on bilateral and plurilateral cooperation. “Great to talk to APM and FM @yairlapid of Israel in the New Year. Discussed our bilateral and plurilateral cooperation. Looking forward to marking the 30th anniversary of our diplomatic ties,” Jaishankar tweeted. On his part, Lapid said the relations between the two countries are growing stronger and both sides will continue to work to deepen them further. “Glad to speak this morning with my friend, Indian External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar. Relations between our countries are growing ever stronger, and we’ll continue to work to deepen them and seek new avenues of cooperation,” he tweeted. In the last few days, Jaishankar spoke to his counterparts from the US, Russia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria. He also spoke to foreign ministers of Australia, Indonesia, Maldives and Bhutan. — Agencies