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We agreed on exchanging intelligence to combat terrorism: Al-Sisi from Russia 'Friends in Egypt doing their best to restore security, resume direct flights, Putin says
Egypt and Russia agreed on enhancing the exchange of intelligence in order to counter terrorism in the region, especially regarding the movements of militants from unstable regions to other countries, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said on Wednesday. During a press conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Al-Sisi added that he reviewed the “outstanding success” of the "Sinai 2018" operation in the country and its results so far. Regarding Egyptian-Russian relations, Al-Sisi praised "the sustainable development" in the cooperation between the two countries throughout the past four years in various fields including energy, electricity, infrastructure, and culture. “We agreed on announcing 2020 as a cultural year between Egypt and Russia, as we hope this year witnesses many events that reflect the cultural and civil communication between the populations of both countries,” said Al-Sisi. Separately, Al-Sisi highlighted that the Syrian conflict has also been discussed, as the pair agreed on avoiding more escalations in the war-torn country, and reaching a political solution that meets the Syrian peoples' demands. Furthermore, Putin emphasised Russia's readiness to resume flights between Russian and Egyptian cities. “Friends in Egypt are doing their best to restore security and resume direct flights,” Putin said. The Russian President added that both countries are working on improving industrial and economic cooperation, as well as completing the current projects including the Dabaa nuclear power plant, and the Russian Industrial Zone (RIZ) in Port Said. He also referred to an agreement of nearly €1bn to be signed, which aims to purchase 1,300 railway cars from Egypt. During a bilateral summit, Al-Sisi and Putin signed a political and strategic agreement, and a comprehensive deal to enhance the strategic partnership between the two countries. Both addressed increasing bilateral economic and trade cooperation, especially in the fields of energy, electricity, infrastructure, and boosting Russian investments in Egypt. International and regional issues of common interest were also on the discussion agenda. Early on Tuesday, Al-Sisi gave a speech before the Russian Federation Council. He praised the Russian decision of resuming its direct flights to Egypt, that were halted following the bombing and crash of a Russian passenger jet over the Sinai Peninsula, which was claimed by the Islamic State group in 2015, killing all 224 people onboard. Al-Sisi also noted that he looks forward to completing the construction of the Dabaa plant in the coming years.
