Russia is still determined to establish an industrial zone, and lend Russian expertise to build a nuclear power plant in Egypt, President Vladimir Putin said in a joint press conference with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Moscow on Wednesday. "We discussed several economic topics related to bilateral trade such as admitting [Egyptian] local currency in trade dealings within the Eurasian Economic Union," Putin said. Putin said the two leaders also discussed increasing wheat exports to Egypt, which is the largest Russian wheat importer. Egypt's president al-Sisi, who is on a three-day visit to Moscow, said both countries "look forward to taking the first steps towards a Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal area," and expressed gratitude for the level of Russian representation at the recent inauguration of the New Suez Canal, which Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev attended. The Egyptian president also said the talks touched on the necessity of finding a political solution to the crisis in Syria. al-Sisi also spoke about bilateral cooperation in counter-terrorism and military action. al-Sisi is to meet with the deputy minister for economic affairs and a group of Russian businessmen following his meeting with the Russian president. Earlier on Wednesday President al-Sisi met King Abdullah II of Jordan, who is currently visiting Moscow, where they discussed bilateral relations and recent developments in the Middle East. source:Ahram Online
