Tuesday, 23 June 2009
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrives in Egypt on Tuesday on the start of a four-country trip to Africa, his first to the continent as Russian leader.
Medvedev's two-day visit to Egypt will see him meet with President Hosni Mubarak to discuss a host of issues including bilateral relations, Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Lebanon, the Iranian nuclear row, and energy security.
Kremlin aide Sergei Prikhodko said that an exchange of opinions on Middle East issues, in particular Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, would be of particular interest to both countries.
"The importance of Russian-Egyptian cooperation in these issues is increasing in the light of the planned Moscow Middle East peace conference," he told journalists.
A Kremlin source has said however that the conference was still set to go ahead, but would be unlikely to take place this year.
"We are not timing the event to coincide with our or any other country's domestic political timetable. We are not seeking a nicely presented conference, we are seeking a conference that will signify a real step forward," the source said.
Prikhodko also said that talks would see a discussion of bilateral economic issues.
"We have seen impressive results in recent years," he went on. "In 2008, the volume of mutual trade and services hit $4.1 billion." He also said the figure for 2007 was $4.2 billion and $2.36 billion for 2007.
During his visit to Egypt, Medvedev is also set to meet with the Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, and Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria, the second most important figure in the Russian Orthodox hierarchy.
After Egypt, Medvedev will visit Nigeria on June 24, Namibia on June 25-26 and Angola on June 26. He is to be accompanied by a delegation of Russian officials and businesspeople, including the ministers for natural resources, justice and energy as well as the heads of state nuclear corporation Rosatom and oil giant LUKoil.
"This is a very important trip. We have been working on it for a long time," Prikhodko said. "Visits to all the countries, without exception, will be of a very intense nature with a lot of meetings and huge interest in Russian business."
