Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in a phone call on Monday for winning the country's presidential elections. In an official statement, Egypt's presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said El-Sisi received the call from his Russian counterpart during which he congratulated El-Sisi on the "precious trust" given to him by the Egyptian people. Putin affirmed his country's keenness on boosting unique bilateral ties with Egypt as both countries continue to coordinate intensively over matters of bilateral interest, the statement by Rady added. According to the statement, El-Sisi emphasized the strength and depth of relations, adding Egypt's desire to continue strategic cooperation between the two countries in the upcoming period to accomplish the interests of both nations. Rady added that the pair also discussed several MENA regional and international developments. Putin's phone call came a few days after he sent a message to El-Sisi on Friday congratulating him for winning the elections ahead of the official results announcement on Monday. "The election's outcome has proved your great authority among your fellow citizens and their wide support for your policy aimed at resolving pressing social and economic issues, as well as at strengthening stability in the country," the message, made public by the Kremlin press service, read on Friday. Monday's phone call by Putin came nearly an hour after US President Donald Trump congratulated El-Sisi for winning second term. On Monday, the National Elections Authority (NEA) declared incumbent President El-Sisi the winner of Egypt's 2018 presidential elections with 97 percent of valid votes in an electoral process that witnessed the turnout of 24 million out of 59 million eligible voters, or 41 percent. El-Sisi secured an expected second four-year term after winning 21,835,378 votes. His sole challenger, Ghad Party head Moussa Moustafa Moussa, won 656,534 votes, or 2.92 percent of total votes. The authority said the number of invalidated ballots was 1,762,231 or 7.27 percent of total votes cast. El-Sisi is due to be sworn in at the House of Representatives in Cairo in June, as per constitutional guidelines, according to Egypt's parliamentary spokeperson Ali Abdel-Aal.
