Russian President Vladimir Putin informed Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday in St. Petersburg that Egypt constitutes one-third of Russia’s trade with the African continent.
Putin told El-Sisi that Russia is eager to expand cooperation with Egypt, particularly in the promising sphere of energy, and praised the “great progress achieved over the past years in relations between the two countries.”
President El-Sisi, for his part, praised Putin for his warm welcome, emphasizing Egypt’s eagerness to collaborate with Russia on both the continental and bilateral levels.
“I am certain that the Russia-Africa Summit will have great results,” El-Sisi noted to Putin.
The Egyptian president also expressed thanks to Putin for establishing the Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant as well as the Russian Industrial Zone in Egypt.
He also congratulated his Russian counterpart on the 80th anniversary of Egyptian-Russian relations.
President El-Sisi arrived earlier Wednesday in St. Petersburg to attend the second edition of the Russia-Africa Summit, which will kick off on Thursday with the participation of 49 countries represented by 45 heads of state.
The Egyptian president co-chaired the first edition of the Russia-Africa Summit with Putin in 2019.
During that edition, participating countries signed 92 agreements, contracts, and memoranda of understanding worth over $11 billion.
Strong ties
In 2022, Egypt’s exports to Russia surged to $595.1 million, up 21.6 percent from 2021, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
Meanwhile, Egypt’s imports from Russia increased to $4.1 billion in 2022, up 15.5 percent from 2021.
In the first six months of 2023, 750,000 Russian tourists visited Egypt, with estimates that the figures could surpass one million by the end of the year.
According to recent statements by Egypt’s ambassador to Russia Nazih El-Nagari, most of the charter flights between Russia and Egypt have been restored and 25-30,000 Russian tourists visit Egypt weekly,
