New Delhi - Egypt and India have decided to rekindle old ties in tune with contemporary realities, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Tuesday after delegation-level talks with visiting President Hosni Mubarak.

The two countries agreed to establish a strategic dialogue at the foreign ministry level. Six agreements on issues ranging from trade to outer space were signed in the presence of the two leaders.

In a joint statement, Singh and Mubarak described their wide-ranging talks on terrorism, energy security, economic ties and food and energy security as "extremely productive and fruitful."

They also discussed the Middle East peace process.

The Egyptian leader, who is on a four-day state visit to India, was earlier accorded a ceremonial reception at the presidential palace in Delhi.

Mubarak is accompanied by his wife Suzanne and a 150-member delegation, including five senior ministers and leading businessmen.

The pacts signed Tuesday include an extradition treaty and agreements on technical and trade cooperation, on the use of outer space and on cooperation in health and medicine.

Singh told joint press briefing that the agreements reflected the desire of both countries to upgrade their relations.

The two leaders also called for a broad-based discussion to reshape the current economic order and stressed the need for proper representation of all regions.

India and Egypt have a long history of cooperation and are founding members of the non-aligned movement which was born in the Cold War era.

"The visit has opened a new chapter in our relations. We have both agreed that conditions are ripe for transforming relations to correspond to contemporary realities," Singh said.

"We have agreed to make up for lost time, and to elevate our relations to a level that reflects our mutual strengths and complementarities," Singh said.

Mubarak called for collective action against terrorism. He thanked India for playing a key role in Middle East security and for supporting the Palestinian cause.

At a meeting of Indian and Egyptian business leaders and officials Monday, Mubarak sought further investment by Indian companies in Egypt, the PTI news agency reported.

Indian companies like Tata Chemicals, Reliance Industries, the Aditya Birla Group and state-run firms like the Oil and Natural Gas Corp and the Gas Authority of India Ltd have already invested more than 800 million dollars in Egypt.

Egypt has proposed setting up an industrial zone exclusively for Indian companies.

Mubarak also said that while bilateral trade had tripled over the past four years, there was room for further expansion.

He said Egypt's strategic location and its trade agreements with the European Union and common market for Eastern and Southern Africa threw up important opportunities for Indian business leaders.

Bilateral trade between the two countries was 3.5 billion dollars in 2007.

Mubarak, who has been president of Egypt for three decades, is visiting India after 25 years. One of his engagements is to formally accept the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, which was given to him by the Indian government in 1995.

Past recipients of the award include former South African president Nelson Mandela, former UN secretary general U-Thant, charity worker Mother Teresa and US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Indian President Pratibha Patil planned to host a banquet for Mubarak later Tuesday.

Mubarak was scheduled to leave for Cairo Wednesday. (dpa)