By ; Mohamed Elkholy

This evening, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Russian President, Vladimir Putin, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in the Russian city of Kazan.

The two Presidents held an expanded session of talks, during which President Putin welcomed President El-Sisi's visit to Russia. The Russian President expressed his pleasure at Egypt's inaugural participation as a member of the BRICS group. He emphasized that Egypt's membership adds value to the group's efforts and contributes to strengthening its role as a platform for promoting multilateral cooperation among developing countries.

President El-Sisi expressed his appreciation for participating in the summit, which is hosted by Russia, confirming Egypt's keenness on engaging in the functions and frameworks of the BRICS. The President commended Russia's efforts during its presidency of the bloc and affirmed Egypt's significant interest in fostering closer cooperation with Russia—not only at the multilateral level, but also at the level of the rapidly evolving bilateral relations across various fields.This progress is grounded in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement signed between the two countries in 2018.

President El-Sisi also lauded the two countries’ collaboration in numerous joint projects, particularly the establishment of the Russian Industrial Zone in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and the construction of El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant.

President El-Sisi and President Putin also discussed a range of regional and international issues. They concurred on the critical importance of de-escalation in the Middle East, given the severe negative repercussions of the conflict there, both regionally and internationally. The two Presidents called for an urgent and immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, stressing the vital need for de-escalation and avoiding practices and measures that would only further aggravate the situation in the region. In this regard, President El-Sisi reiterated the imperative of facilitating the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian aid and relief to the people in the Gaza Strip and of supporting Lebanon and asserting its sovereignty, security and stability.

The two Presidents’ talks also tackled an array of pressing international issues, primarily the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. President El-Sisi underscored Egypt’s position, advocating for diplomatic solutions and political settlements of crises through dialogue, in a manner that upholds international peace and security and protects the peoples.