Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat met, on Thursday, with Anton Kobyakov, Adviser to the Russian President, to discuss economic relations between the two countries, on the sidelines of the 2021 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). During their meeting, Al-Mashat applauded the Egyptian-Russian strategic relations which extend over 50 years. The recent period in particular has witnessed an unprecedented development, under the leadership of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Al-Mashat also praised the Russian decision to resume direct flights to Red Sea cities, including Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh after Egyptian airports intensified their safety measures. The strategic relations between Egypt and Russia are reflected in economic cooperation across various fields, such as the Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant worth $25bn, and the Russian Rosneft Oil Company investing in Egyptian natural gas. In the field of transportation, Russia supported Egypt by supplying and manufacturing 1,300 railway vehicles. Russia is also working to establish an industrial zone in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, attracting over $7bn of investment. Noteworthy, 40% of Russian trade that goes to Africa passes through Egypt. Moreover, Egypt's Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative (PICI) opens up prospects for the Russian-Egyptian-African partnerships to implement infrastructure projects. The SPIEF, held since 1997 and annually organized in St. Petersburg in Russia, has been a leading global platform for the business community to discuss economic challenges faced by emerging markets, and other countries around the world. More than 10,000 people from over 120 countries participate in the forum annually as it brings together heads of state from governments, ministers, deputy prime ministers, and CEOs of major Russian and international companies, foreign banks, leading experts and other political and business leaders. Al-Mashat said that the first Russian-African summit held in October 2019 under the chairmanship of Egyptian President Al-Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, was a strategic turning point in joint relations to support development on the continent. During the summit, both co-chairs adopted goals to develop in terms of Russian-African cooperation on all levels which led to the signing of 92 agreements and memorandums of understanding.
