Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, October 22, just before the official start of the BRICS summit in Kazan, western Russia.
During their meeting, El-Sissi expressed his desire to strengthen cooperation between Egypt and Russia, a sentiment shared by Putin.
“We place great importance on expanding our friendly relations with Egypt, a long-standing and reliable partner of Russia. Last year, we celebrated the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries,” Putin remarked.
Egypt is one of five nations invited to join the BRICS group this year. The country is currently dealing with an economic crisis, further exacerbated by the Gaza conflict on its northeastern border.
El-Sissi emphasized Egypt’s commitment to deepening bilateral ties and multilateral cooperation within the BRICS framework.
“We are eager to activate cooperation with your friendly country, both bilaterally and through multilateral frameworks like BRICS,” El-Sissi told Putin. “We support efforts to make BRICS a platform capable of addressing the negative effects of international crises, while ensuring that member countries, including Egypt and Russia, can safeguard their interests free from external pressures, especially in trade dealings.”
The BRICS summit, focusing on developing economies, will conclude on Friday, October 24.