CAIRO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks on Monday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the second day of a visit to boost ties with his country s main trade partner in the region, the state-run MENA news agency reported.
The two discussed international and regional issues of joint interest, the Middle East developments, efforts to revive the stalled Middle East peace process and bilateral ties, MENA said.
On Sunday, Lavrov met Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit for the fifth round of the Egyptian-Russian strategic dialogue, and signed a cooperation plan for 2010, MENA said.
Russia has a total of 230 projects in Egypt with total investments estimated at $1 billion, foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said after Sunday s talks.
Lavrov said Moscow hoped that the total volume of trade between the two countries would reach $4 billion. Egypt is Russia s largest commercial partner in Africa.
In June, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made a trip to Egypt as part of efforts to boost Russia s clout in the region, which was a stronghold of Soviet influence before the end of the Cold War and the subsequent surge of US dominance. -AFP
