El-Sisi at BRICS Summit: We support efforts to address negative impact of international crises

CAIRO – 22 October 2024: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi expressed Egypt's appreciation for Russia's support during Egypt's accession to BRICS and acknowledged the efforts Russia made throughout its presidency of the BRICS Summit. El-Sisi also conveyed his happiness with Egypt’s first-time participation in the BRICS Summit.

During a bilateral meeting, President El-Sisi highlighted Egypt’s eagerness to strengthen frameworks of cooperation between Egypt and Russia, both bilaterally and within multilateral platforms, with BRICS being a top priority. He reaffirmed Egypt's commitment to supporting any efforts aimed at countering the negative consequences of international crises.

Furthermore, President El-Sisi acknowledged the rapid developments within BRICS, focusing on the group's efforts to find effective solutions that benefit all members, free from external restrictions. He emphasized that this is particularly important for trade relations between Egypt and Russia.

El-Sisi emphasized the significance of boosting trade exchanges using local currencies within the BRICS framework and called for the reform of the international financial system to benefit developing nations.

During a bilateral discussion with Russian President Putin, President El-Sisi praised the growing strength of Egypt-Russia relations. He highlighted the progress since the signing of the Comprehensive Partnership and Strategic Cooperation Agreement between the two countries in 2018.

El-Sisi commended Russia's significant contributions to Egypt's national projects, particularly the El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant. He also highlighted the importance Russia places on the Russian Industrial Zone project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

El-Sisi noted that the Egyptian Parliament is in the process of finalizing approval of the financing agreement for the project and stressed the need to establish a joint mechanism between Egypt and Russia to ensure smooth implementation.

On the same context, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed Moscow's strong interest in enhancing cooperation with Cairo. He emphasized that this partnership is progressing steadily.

Putin noted, "We place special importance on expanding friendly relations with Egypt, a longstanding and reliable partner of Russia," reminding that the two countries celebrated the 80th anniversary of their diplomatic relations last year. He added that the bilateral cooperation is comprehensive, based on a partnership and strategic cooperation agreement.

He further highlighted that trade and economic relations are advancing at a steady pace, with Egypt accounting for almost one-third of Russia's total trade volume with Africa.

In response, President El-Sisi expressed Egypt's commitment to participating in the activities organized under Russia's presidency of the BRICS Summit this year. He added, "We look forward to strengthening bilateral cooperation with Russia and appreciate the support provided by Russia to Egypt."

President El-Sisi arrived in the Russian Federation earlier to attend the BRICS Summit, held in Kazan. This summit marks Egypt's first participation as a full member of BRICS, following its official inclusion at the beginning of this year.