Five Egyptian-Russian committees were formed during the official joint committee meetings between the two countries to discuss obstacles that may hinder the development of bilateral cooperation in the fields of industry and investment. The committees are set to tackle issues in the following sectors: industry and investment, trade, agricultural commodities, petroleum, electricity, energy, scientific and technical cooperation, aviation and education. A final report detailing the results of the discussions will be submitted to the joint committee. The Egyptian-Russian official joint committee meetings are taking place between 23 and 26 March in Moscow. The Egyptian minister is heading the Egyptian side of the negotiations while Russian Minister of Agriculture Nikolay Vasilyevich Fyodorov is heading the Russian side. The Minister of Foreign Trade, Industry and Investment Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said that the visit aims at achieving concrete results and a joint action plan to activate the strategic partnership between the two countries. The minister added that a number of trade agreements will be signed based on the results reached during the meeting. According to the ministerial statement, Abdel Nour is slated to meet with Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Valentinovich Manturov and officials from the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). The minister will also meet with several representatives from Russian companies who have shown an interest in investing in Egypt, an official ministerial statement noted. At the end of 2013, total Russian investments in the Egyptian market amount to approximately $66m. Earlier this week, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry announced that the Egypt is exploring the possibility of negotiations regarding the establishment of a free trade zone between Egypt and the countries of the Customs Union, which includes Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The meetings were also said to tackle the possibility of signing long-term contracts regarding the supply of Russian wheat to Egypt.
