CAIRO, February 2. /TASS/. The positions of Egypt and Russia on the issue of ensuring stability and security both at the regional and international levels coincide, Egypt’s Minister of Defense and Military Production Sedki Sobhi said on Tuesday at a meeting with Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov in Cairo, the news portal of the Al-Ahram newspaper reported.
Manturov heads the Russian delegation within the framework of a business trip at meetings of the joint intergovernmental commission for trade, economic and scientific-technical cooperation. During the visit it is planned to sign several bilateral documents, in particular, memorandums of understanding on the project for the establishment of a Russian industrial zone in Egypt, as well as on the development of investment cooperation between the Russian Direct Investment Fund, the National Bank of Egypt and the Egyptian Bank Misr.
According to the report, the Egyptian defense minister particularly emphasized the "depth of the strategic relationship" between Cairo and Moscow. "These relations are based on the similarity of views and common approaches of the two countries aimed at supporting the efforts to ensure security, stability and development at the international and regional levels," Sobhi said.
The meeting participants, Al-Ahram reported, also discussed a number of issues related to the strategic partnership and cooperation within the framework of the protocols signed earlier at meetings of the Russian-Egyptian joint commission on military-technical cooperation.
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On Monday, Manturov said that Russia and Egypt could jointly develop promising markets in the Middle East and Africa. "Egypt is to become one of the production and technology leaders in the region. And we should begin concrete steps to localize joint production in Egypt and develop promising markets in the Middle East and Africa," he said at an official dinner..
Egypt’s Industry and Foreign Trade Minister Tarek Kabil said at the opening of a Russian-Egyptian business forum in Cairo on Monday, "We consider it vitally important for Egypt and Russia to reach a free trade zone agreement including both our country and the Eurasian Economic Union," the minister said. "The agreement will positively influence bilateral trade turnover and open up virtual opportunities for attracting a bigger volume of direct foreign investment in Egypt," he said.
Egypt is keen to become Russia’s investment base in Africa and the Middle East, particularly against the background of the agreement on creation of a Russian industrial zone in the area of the Gulf of Suez, which is going to become an example for investors from all over the world willing to put up capital in Egypt, Tarek Kabil said.