PM Modi visits Heliopolis War Cemetery in Cairo to pay respects to Indian soldiers who laid down their lives during WW I

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday visited the Heliopolis Commonwealth War Cemetery here and offered tributes to the Indian soldiers who bravely fought and laid down their lives in Egypt and Palestine during the First World War.

Modi offered floral tributes and signed the visitor’s book at the Cemetery that comprises the Heliopolis (Port Tewfik) Memorial and the Heliopolis (Aden) Memorial.

The Heliopolis (Port Tewfik) Memorial commemorates nearly 4,000 Indian soldiers who died fighting in Egypt and Palestine in the First World War.

The Heliopolis (Aden) Memorial pays tribute to more than 600 men of the Commonwealth forces who sacrificed their lives for Aden during the First World War.

The Cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It also houses 1,700 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War as well as several war graves of other nationalities, according to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.

Located at the south end of the Suez Canal, the original Port Tewfik memorial was unveiled in 1926.

Designed by Sir John Burnet, the original memorial sustained damages during the 1967-1973 Israeli-Egyptian conflict and was eventually demolished, according to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.

In October 1980, a new memorial with panels bearing the names of the martyred Indian soldiers was unveiled by the Indian Ambassador to Egypt in the Heliopolis Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery.

Last October, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar paid tributes at Heliopolis Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery. The Prime Minister is on a two-day state visit to Egypt at the invitation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. This is the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 26 years.