Egyptian, Russian leaders agree to strengthen ties during Brics summit

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi met Tuesday (Oct. 22) his Russian counterpart moments before the official start of the BRICS summit in Kazan, western Russia.

As El-Sissi stressed his desire to enhance cooperation; a feeling shared by Vladimir Putin.

"We pay special attention to expanding friendly ties 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," The leader of the Russian federation said.

Egypt is one of 5 nations which were invited to join the BRICS this year.

The country currently grapples with an economic crisis worsened by the Gaza war on its north-eastern border.

“I stress our aspiration to activate the frameworks of cooperation with your friendly country, including at the bilateral level through the frameworks of multilateral cooperation, foremost among which is the BRICS group," El-Sisi told his counterpart.

"We support any efforts related to transforming the group into a platform capable of confronting the negative repercussions of international crises, taking into account the importance of investing in the boom that the BRICS are currently witnessing, and reaching effective solutions to keep the interests of its members away from any external restrictions or pressures, especially with regard to trade dealings, particularly between Egypt and Russia.”

The summit of developing economies ends Friday (Oct.24).