Egypt’s FM Shoukry welcomes Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Cairo

CAIRO – 12 April 2021: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry welcomed his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Tahrir Palace, Cairo, Monday.

The two officials are expected to hold talks to tackle the development of bilateral relations, along with the updates of events on regional and international levels. A joint press conference expected after the meeting.

 

In statements for Russia's news agency [TASS], ahead of Lavrov’s visit to Egypt, Shoukry said that the relations of Cairo and Moscow are distinctively deep and serve the interests of both countries.

"We plan to continue coordination and consultations that unite us with Lavrov, by touching upon bilateral relations, as well as the development of events on regional and international levels," the Egyptian top diplomat said.

 

"The relations of Egypt and Russia are distinctively deep and serve the interests of both sides. First of all, we are talking about the nuclear power plant project in El Dabaa, the Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal area, and assistance in railroad development by shipment of train cars in cooperation with Hungary." Shoukry added.

"Of course, the negotiations agenda includes the development of trade volume between the two countries, the Egypt’s request on accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the support we receive from Russia in this regard, in addition to the regional situation, which includes the Palestinian issue and crises in Syria and Libya, the achievement of stability in the Middle East in general, as well as resolution of global issues that affect peace and security," Shoukry said.

"In terms of development of bilateral relations, we plan to discuss the overcoming of all existing difficulties related to administrative and executive structure, the progress in implementation of previously achieved agreements, and the legal basis that we negotiated earlier." he added.

The Egyptian foreign minister underscored that the republic awaits the events planned within the Year of humanitarian cooperation of Russia and Egypt with great anticipation, reminding that the timeframe of these events was changed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We await such events in the light of relations that connect the two peoples," he underscored.

"We always pay respect to the Russian culture and the interest it sparks on the global scale in all arts, the huge legacy and artworks that affect the global cultural trends. Yes, the coronavirus has probably imposed restrictions on intensification of the exchange, but we hope that, once we are able to tame the pandemic, we will restore this activity." Shoukry noted.

 

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has reaffirmed that Egypt is one of the main partners to Russia in the Middle East and Africa.

He reiterated that there are promising horizons for having strategic cooperation between Cairo and Moscow, particularly in the field of tourism.

He pointed out that the nature of ties between Cairo and Moscow is based on the agreement of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation, which was signed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in 2018 and has come into effect in January 2021.

Lavrov said his country is keen to resume flights between Russia and Egyptian resorts given the great efforts exerted on this score, noting that he expects the return of flights to Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada to be soon.

The minister praised the gradual growth of Egyptian-Russian ties in several domains despite the coronavirus outbreak.