The periodically held Egyptian-Russian two-plus-two dialogue mechanism, which involves the foreign and defence ministers of the two countries, is set to start on Monday in Moscow, a statement by Egypt's foreign ministry said. The meeting will include discussions between Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on boosting bilateral relations. The upcoming meeting will be the fourth after those held in Cairo in November 2013, in Moscow in February 2014, and in Cairo in May 2017. The discussions will cover strengthening political, economic, cultural, and tourism ties, building on "the breakthrough in relations following Russian President Vladimir Putin's latest visit to Egypt in December 2017," the ministry said. In December 2017, Putin met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo, where they attended the signing of an agreement officially launching work on Egypt's first-ever nuclear power plant at Dabaa on the North Coast, which is being built in cooperation with Russia. In April, Russia resumed flights with the Egyptian capital following a 30-month flight ban by Moscow after a Russian airliner crashed in Sinai in 2015. Flights have not yet been resumed to Egyptian Red Sea resort destinations, however, with Egypt awaiting the arrival of Russian experts in mid-May to discuss the return of flights to the tourist getaways. The two ministers will also discuss a number of regional issues, including the crises in Syria, Libya, Yemen, as well as the Iran nuclear deal. The will also discuss developing cooperation and coordination between the two countries in combating terrorism. 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. Source: Ahram Online
