ST. PETERSBURG, July 26. /TASS/. Egypt welcomes Russia’s initiatives on cooperation on the African continent and it is interested in developing bilateral cooperation, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.

"We are always positive on all initiatives, including from your side, that concern bilateral cooperation and interaction on the African continent. We are obviously interested in strengthening bilateral cooperation with Russia in various areas," El-Sisi said.

Speaking about the relations between Russia and Egypt, he stressed the intention "to bring them to the horizons that they deserve." The Egyptian president also noted the particular importance of the project on construction with the help of the Russian state corporation Rosatom of the first nuclear power plant (NPP) in the country El Dabaa. "[The project on construction of] El Dabaa NPP and the creation of the Russian industrial zone is pivotal in our cooperation," he said.

The second Russia-Africa summit is scheduled to take place in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on July 27-28, with an economic and humanitarian forum to be held concurrently. This time, same as in 2019 when the first such summit was held in Sochi in October, the motto is ‘For Peace, Security, and Development’. Roscongress Foundation is the organizer of the event. TASS is the photo hosting agency and information partner of the summit and the forum, and it also holds the second Russia-Africa media forum.