Egyptian High Ranking Military Delegation Visits Russia

A high-ranking Egyptian military delegation headed to Russia on for meetings and discussions on bilateral military cooperation between the two countries,as reported by Daily News Egypt. Egypt’s military delegation to Russia included Minister of Defense Sedky Sobhy and Minister of Military Production Mohamed Al-Assar, according to Daily News Egypt.

This is the third meeting held by the Egyptian-Russian military committee. The first meeting took place in February when a Russian military delegation visited Cairo, and the second meeting was in Russia headed by Al-Assar.

The visit is expected to last for several days and will discuss the strategic cooperation between Egypt and Russia.

During the previous visits, the two countries signed several agreements for the renovation of military production factories in Egypt. They also agreed on the construction of a joint industrial zone in Suez, along with other agreements in the fields of construction materials and pharmaceuticals.

In light of the military cooperation between Russia and Egypt, Russian airborne forces units will participate in joint Egyptian-Russian drills to combat terrorism. These drills are expected to be held in October.

The relation between Russia and Egypt has flourished after the military coup in 2013 led by al-Sisi against the first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi.

Egypt’s Armed Forces have previously  signed an arm deal with the Russian Rosoboronexport armaments company for the sale and delivery of 46 attack helicopters.

Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport Deputy Director General Igor Sevastyanov stated that Russia will most probably provide equipment for Egypt’s Mistral-class helicopter carriers delivered from France.

In the same context, the Kremlin chief of staff said at an earlier time that Russia is expected to provide Egypt with more than $1 billion in equipment and helicopters for the two Mistral carriers.

Moreover, the Russian ambassador in Cairo Sergey Kerpichenko stated last June that he holds much information on the deadly arms deals between Egypt and Russia. He also pointed that the Egyptian minister of defense refuses to declare the military deals and contracts as they are considered special information. He added that Egypt and Russia are moving on the right path as Russia is ready to increase Egypt’s defense capabilities.