MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. A meeting of the Russian-Egyptian counterterrorism group will be held in Cairo in the near future, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Egypt’s Al-Ahram newspaper.
"Joint work within the framework of this mechanism has contributed to strengthening our interaction in the anti-terrorism field. We have plans to hold another meeting of the group in Cairo in the immediate future," he said.
The Russian foreign minister pointed out that Moscow and Cairo spoke up for joining efforts to counter the global threat of international terrorism and to maintain close contacts at the United Nations.
Lavrov underscored that along with the political dialogue, Russia and Egypt promote mutually beneficial cooperation in trade and the economy. Nevertheless, the minister stated with regret that the pandemic had a negative impact on trade, which shrank in 2020 from $6.25 billion to $4.54 billion in comparison with 2019.
However, Lavrov says, the countries continue implementing major joint projects, including the construction of the Russian-designed El Dabaa nuclear power plant in Egypt, the creation of a Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal economic zone and exports of railroad cars to Egypt.
"The Russian Sputnik V vaccine’s registration in Egypt this February has created good prerequisites to enhance contacts between the two countries’ relevant bodies concerning potential supplies of this vaccine to the Arab Republic of Egypt," he added.