CAIRO, April 11. /TASS/. The relations of Cairo and Moscow are distinctively deep and serve the interests of both countries, Foreign Minister of Egypt Sameh Shoukry said in an interview for TASS ahead of his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov’s April 12 visit to the republic.
"We plan to continue coordination and consultations that unite us with Mr. Lavrov, by touching upon bilateral relations, as well as the development of events on regional and international levels," he 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."
"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."
The 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.".