CAIRO, August 19. /TASS/. Egypt seeks to expand strategic cooperation with Russia for the sake of peace, stability and development, Mohamed Al-Orabi, the chairman of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and former foreign minister, told the conference entitled Russia and Egypt: Eighty Years of Strategic Partnership. The event, timed for August 26 - the anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries - was organized by the Dialogue center for political and media studies with the assistance of the Russian embassy in Cairo, a TASS correspondent reports.
"Cooperation between Russia and Egypt represents a locomotive for development and for achieving peace. We would like to see the partnership between the two countries grow stronger to support peace, stability and development," the diplomat said.
Al-Orabi pointed to new challenges that were emerging in the current geopolitical situation.
"We have a new stage in the fight against terrorism, which requires the support of other countries. It is crucial for great powers to help developing countries," he emphasized. "Russia, as a great power, is now protecting its national security. Also, it bears responsibility and helps other countries in this regard," al-Orabi noted.
Egypt’s former ambassador to Russia, Raouf Saad, emphasized that "Cairo and Moscow see eye to eye on major political issues."
"Even if on some issues the views are not exactly the same, either side understands the other's position," Saad said, citing the dispute over Ethiopia's Renaissance Dam and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis as examples. He said Moscow accepted Cairo's position and favored a fair settlement of the controversy over the construction of the hydropower plant.
"Egypt, for its part, observes neutrality towards the Russian-Ukrainian crisis," the diplomat said.
Yuri Matveev, Russia's charge d’affaires in Egypt emphasized "the strength of historically friendly ties between Cairo and Moscow, which have been steadily getting firmer for 80 years and have now reached a level of strategic partnership."
"Today the two states share a high level of political trust and coordination in various spheres," he stated.
The conference featured several plenary sessions devoted to different aspects of cooperation between the countries, including foreign policy coordination, trade, economic and investment interaction, as well as ways of further enhancing them. The event was attended by diplomats and representatives of scientific, socio-political and educational circles of the two countries, and Russian and Egyptian media.