Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi headed on Monday to Russia for a three-day visit to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
Both are scheduled to address bilateral cooperation and issues of common interest.
Al-Sisi is also expected to hold meetings with Russian officials on bolstering Russian investments inside Egypt, especially in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that the construction of a new Russian Industrial Zone in Port Said kicked off.
Egypt and Russia signed last May a 50-year agreement to build a Russian Industrial Zone in the new Suez Canal Economic Zone.
The industrial zone will be built on an area of 5.25m sqm, and the total amount of investment in the project is expected to reach $7bn.
The agreement aims to enhance trade and economic cooperation between the two countries and increase investment opportunities.
Meanwhile, Egypt is hosting the Egyptian-Russian “Defenders of Friendship-2018” anti-terror drills starting from today until the 26th October, stated Egypt’s military on Monday.
The manoeuvre involves 400 paratroopers from both countries, and 15 helicopters and aircrafts from the Russian Aerospace Force and the Egyptian Air Force, according to the Russian News Agency TASS.
The joint exercises will host military observers from 13 countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrein, and Cyprus, TASS added.
Egypt and Russia have developed stronger military relations during the last few years. Both started to conduct joint naval and military drills since July 2015.
Relations further improved after Russia decided in April this year to resume its direct flights to Egypt, almost three years after they 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.
