President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit, which ended in Osaka, Japan on Saturday.
According to Egypt’s Presidency Spokesperson Bassam Rady, the meeting reviewed Egypt and Russia’s cooperation opportunities on the African continent, in light of Egypt’s current presidency of the African Union.
The two presidents also discussed preparations for the African-Russian summit in October, he added.
The leaders agreed on working towards crystallizing practical results of the summit for the benefit of Africa’s people, in a bid to forge a framework for sustainable partnership and cooperation between Russia and African countries.
The meeting also discussed the situation in Libya. Rady said that Sisi stressed the importance of restoring the role of national state institutions in Libya and supporting the Libyan National Army in combating armed terrorist organizations to impose security, restore stability and undermine any foreign interference, in preparation for elections that would enforce the will of the Libyan people.
Another topic brought up between the presidents were joint efforts to resume air traffic between Russian cities and Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada’s airports, as well as the Dabaa nuclear plant, the Russian industrial zone at the Suez Canal axis, and combating terrorism, Rady explained.
President Sisi expressed Egypt’s desire to deepen Egyptian-Russian relations at all levels, praising the important projects that the two countries are implementing in Egypt.
He further praised the momentum seen in relations, especially following his visit to Russia in October 2018, signing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership as well as signing a memorandum of understanding towards establishing political consultations.
For his part, Putin stressed the importance attached by his country to the development of bilateral relations with Egypt in the coming period and under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
He also stressed the importance he attached to continuing cooperation with Sisi on various regional and international issues of shared concern.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
