Egypt and Russia agreed on Monday on the importance of their joint coordination in fighting terrorism, a statement by Egypt's foreign ministry said following the conclusion of talks between the foreign ministers of both countries in Moscow. In an official statement, Egypt's foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov held talks in Moscow, discussing issues of shared interest. Abu Zeid said both ministers exchanged viewpoints over regional issues, headed by the situation in Syria, Libya, Yemen, and the repercussions of the American withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear agreement. The Palestinian cause, and the escalation uncovering in the occupied territories, was also on the table of discussions. Shoukry presented with his Russian counterpart the "steady improvement" of the Egyptian economy in the past period, with the trade exchange between the two countries amounting to $6.712 billion in 2017. According to Abu Zeid, Russian investments in Egypt were estimated at $66.49 million in 424 companies up to January 2018, operating in the fields of tourism, construction, industry, communications, information technology, and agriculture. "Egypt hopes for greater investments in the upcoming period to reflect the strength of the relationship and the common interests that benefit both sides," the statement said. Both ministers said they were looking forward to the joint Egyptian-Russian economic committee on 21-23 May in Moscow, where several agreements between the two countries are set to be inked. Monday's meeting comes as part of periodically held Egyptian-Russian two-plus-two dialogue mechanism, which involves the foreign and defence ministers of the two countries. The meeting was the fourth after those held in Cairo in November 2013, in Moscow in February 2014, and in Cairo in May 2017. The strategic two-plus-two mechanism between Egypt and Russia was activated in 2013, with Egypt being the sixth country to establish such a framework with Russia after the US, France, Italy, the UK, and Japan.
