According to Grigory Karasin, Russia regards Egypt as one of its major partners in the Middle East and Africa.
Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin met with Ambassador of Egypt to Russia Nazih el-Nagari. The meeting was attended by First Deputy Chair of the Committee Vladimir Dzhabarov.
The participants in the meeting noted the intense nature of the political dialogue between the two countries. According to Grigory Karasin, this was confirmed in a telephone conversation between the President of the Russian Federation and the President of Arab Republic of Egypt.
“We regard Egypt as one of Russia’s major partners in the Middle East and Africa. Our relations are progressively developing under the Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Strategic Cooperation, which came into force in January 2021. In July and August of this year, the heads of the two states exchanged messages, which expressed their mutual commitment to further promote our multifaceted interaction. The Russian Foreign Minister’s visit to Egypt in July of this year was also an important event in bilateral relations. This visit was preceded by a visit of the Foreign Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt, who came to Moscow as a member of the delegation of the League of Arab States Contact Group on Ukraine,” Grigory Karasin said.
The Russian Senator noted that the two countries’ bilateral parliamentary contacts had intensified. “A visit by the President of the Egyptian Senate to Russia in November 2021 at the invitation of the Federation Council Speaker was an important step in this direction,” he added.
Grigory Karasin said that he had sent a message to Chairman of the Egyptian Senate’s Arab, Foreign and African Affairs Committee Effat El-Sadat, inviting a parliamentary delegation from Egypt to visit Russia later this year.
“We know that the key issue for the Egyptian Government today is ensuring food security,” Grigory Karasin said. “In the first place, this concerns Russian wheat supplies.The related agencies are discussing the practical aspects of our bilateral collaboration in this area.”
The Senator also said that Russia was expecting the air service between Russia and Egypt to resume in full.
Nazih el-Nagari noted the importance of contacts with Russian lawmakers for promoting relations between the two countries and exchanging opinions, including between members of parliament, on current bilateral and international issues.