Egypt has signed a military cooperation agreement with the Russian Federation on Tuesday
According to Egyptian military spokesperson Gharib Abdel-Hafez, the deal was signed by Egypt’s Defense Minister Mohamed Ahmed Zaki and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in Moscow.
Zaki was on a three-day visit to Moscow for the 7th meeting of the Egypt-Russia Joint Military Committee, the official said in a statement.
Speaking at the beginning of the meeting, Zaki said “the progress that has been achieved over such a short period of development of various directions of our military cooperation confirms yet again that we are on the right track. We greatly desire to continue developing this interaction in all spheres and in the spirit of mutual trust,”
The defense minister noted the mutual intention of the political leadership of the two countries to rekindle the long-held friendly relations linking the people of Russia and Egypt. “This is particularly important in light of the increasing level and variety of threats in their standard and non-standard forms, caused by the deteriorating situation in the sphere of international security,” he said.
He also noted the necessity to restore stability and security in the Middle East while rejecting meddling in the internal affairs of other countries under various pretexts.
The defense ministers evaluated mutual importance issues and discussed exchanges between the two armed forces, read the statement.
Zaki conveyed Cairo’s desire to enhance cooperation and strengthen its partnership with Moscow in various fields, it added.
Shoigu said Russia remains keen to increase its existing cooperation with Cairo and views Egypt as an important strategic partner in the Middle East, the statement said.
General Zaki thanked his friend Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for the invitation to the Army forum as well as for the attention in implementing the tasks of bilateral military-technical cooperation.