Russian, Egyptian presidents hold talks on sidelines of BRICS Summit in Kazan

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin late Tuesday held talks with his visiting Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in the Russian city of Kazan.

Underlining Egypt’s participation in the summit as a member for the first time, Putin said Moscow is paying special attention to expanding its ties with Cairo, defining the country as a “long-standing and reliable partner.”

He said that both countries are moving forward in the trade and economic sphere, adding that the implementation of large joint projects continues, particularly referring to the construction of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant in the town of El Dabaa.

“Russia and Egypt are united in their approaches to solving many pressing global problems, and we value our cooperation at the United Nations,” he went on to say.

For his part, al-Sisi expressed his gratitude for Russia’s support for Egypt’s BRICS membership, saying that Cairo also values all the events that the Russian side held during its chairmanship in the bloc.

"Egypt highly values our interaction, our cooperation in bilateral relations, as well as in multilateral formats," he said, adding that the country supports the expansion of BRICS.

Egypt is one of four countries that officially joined the BRICS economic group on Jan. 1.