Russian-African Summit to be held mid-2023: Lavrov announces while on visit to Egypt

CAIRO – 24 July 2022: Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shokry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov held a joint press conference Sunday following the meeting with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi at Al Itihadiyah Presidential Palace.

Minister Lavrov announced that he is holding a tour in Africa to coordinate a Russian-African Summit that is scheduled for mid-2023. However, the minister regretted that the sanctions against Russia cripple pushing forward its economic cooperation with African states.  

As for talks with President Sisi, the Russian minister said that they were fruitful. He also pointed out that the Strategic Partnership Deal inked between Egypt and Russia in Sochi in 2018 went into effect last year, and that bilateral relations continue to grow.

"Work is underway to expand economic cooperation away from sanctions imposed by the West...and the implementation of Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant is going fine," Lavrov stated. The minister similarly highlighted that the trade exchange between Egypt and Russia grew by five percent.

"We discussed the role of Egypt in Africa and the Middle East, particularly in achieving a settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," Lavrov added. He further noted that the meeting also tackled the Libyan and Syrian crises. On that front, Lavrov stipulated the necessity of respecting the sovereignty of the Syrian state.

As for the “military operation in Ukraine,” the United States wants to control the world but it’s crucial to defend the Russian peoples in that area of globe, Lavrov said answering journalists' questions.

The minister added that Russia welcomes humanitarian corridors extending between Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea and the Bosphorus Strait, pending that Ukraine removes the mines it had installed at those ports.

In that context, Minister Shokry said that Egypt reiterates the importance of reaching a diplomatic resolution to the Ukrainian crisis.