In a wide-ranging interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Egypt Georgiy Borisenko emphasised the importance of Egyptian-Russian cooperation, including in the Egyptian-Russian Bilateral Committee and the building of the Dabaa nuclear power plant.
Egypt and Russia continue to build solid bridges of cooperation. How do you view the political relations between the two countries?
Ties between Russia and Egypt started in the 16th century and intensified in the 1950s after the 1952 Revolution when the Soviet Union helped Egypt during the nationalisation of the Suez Canal and during the industrialisation process.
Over the past 10 years, relations between our two countries have experienced a new intensification thanks to the deep and cordial relations between our two presidents, who coordinate their positions in the international arena, including in the BRICS group of countries.
We were honoured to host President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi at the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day in Moscow on 9 May, and it was symbolic to see Egyptian soldiers marching together with Russian soldiers in Red Square.
What was the outcome of the 15th session of the Egyptian-Russian Bilateral Committee on 12-14 May?
The 15th session of the Russian-Egyptian Bilateral Committee on economic cooperation saw in-depth conversations on all spheres of our cooperation in the fields of the economy, education, and culture.
Last year saw a record volume of trade between our two countries when bilateral trade exceeded $9 billion. Russia is the major supplier of wheat to Egypt, and last year Russia delivered more than 10 million tons. Russia is also constructing the first Egyptian nuclear power plant in Dabaa. We have plans to establish a Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal Special Economic Zone, and this project was intensively discussed at the meeting of the Bilateral Committee in Moscow. Some additional memoranda of understanding (MOUs) were signed to promote the realisation of this project.
There are approximately 400 Russian companies working in Egypt or with Egyptian partners, and some of them want to localise their production. One such company is Transmashholding, which had delivered more than 1,000 passenger carriages to Egyptian National Railways. It now has a project to build a plant in Egypt to localise production.
We are eager to receive more Egyptian goods in the Russian market. For instance, right now most supermarket chains in Russia have Egyptian potatoes and Egyptian oranges, both of which are very popular in Russia. We would be happy to import more agricultural goods of this sort, including mangoes, as well as Egyptian textile goods. The Russian market is open to our Egyptian friends, and there are many opportunities, especially after some Western companies left the Russian market two or three years ago.
Russia will host the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) later this month, and Egypt is participating with a high-level delegation. What do you see as the main outcomes of the forum?
The St Petersburg International Economic Forum is a unique event not only for businessmen but also for state leaders and the heads of economic and related ministries. This year, we hope that some Egyptian ministers will attend as well as many Egyptian businessmen. A special session on cooperation between Russia and the African countries is planned, and clearly Egypt is historically the gateway for Russia to Africa and the Middle East.
Trade between Russia and Egypt makes up approximately one-third of our trade with Africa. We hope the forum will give new opportunities for representatives of business in Egypt and Russia to connect and possibly conclude new contracts.
What are the developments in the Dabaa nuclear power plant project?
This plant will be a new symbol of Egyptian-Russian friendship, like the Aswan High Dam. All four nuclear power units at the Dabaa plant are in the process of construction, and all four reactors are already being manufactured in Russia. We have already delivered equipment to be installed in the first and second reactors, which are already in the advanced stage of construction.
The Dabaa nuclear power plant is the biggest nuclear construction site in the world and is providing jobs to many Egyptian companies. According to the schedule, the plant should be ready to produce electricity in the spring of 2030. The first reactor should start production in 2028, and the whole nuclear plant, which consists of four reactors, should be producing electricity by the 2030 date.
The plant will help the Egyptian economy and assist in the development of the western part of Egypt and will even provide opportunities to export part of the electricity it generates overseas.
Combating terrorism is important to both countries. What is the progress in this regard?
Russia and Egypt are working closely together in the field of combating terrorism. We have a bilateral working group on countering terrorism, which is co-chaired by our assistant foreign ministers. We are also working closely together in the United Nations to work on different conventions regarding fighting terrorism and the financing of terrorism. We will soon sign a convention about preventing crimes utilising information communication technologies, for example.
What is the Russian stance towards the Western interventions in Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan?
We have major concerns about various hot spots in the Middle East, including Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan, and our strong desire is that these countries should continue to exist as sovereign independent nations.
Libya should be a united and independent country free of terrorists and radical forces. We know how important Libya is for the national security of Egypt, and we are working together with our Egyptian friends to find a political settlement for Libya and to unite the two parts of the country under one president and one government.
The same thing is true of Syria. This is a very diverse country, and it is important from our point of view to keep the country united. We hope that foreign nations will not harm the unity of Syria. The current authorities in Damascus should do their utmost to find political solutions in order to keep the country stable and observe the rights of all ethnic, religious, and political groups.
We know how important the crisis in Sudan is for Egypt because Sudan borders Egypt and there are scores of Sudanese refugees in Egypt. We hope that the government of General Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan in Sudan will be able to overcome the current troubles and unite the country.
The Palestinian cause remains the central issue for all Arab and Islamic countries, and Egypt firmly rejects the forced displacement of the Palestinians. How do you view this humanitarian tragedy?
Russia was the first member of the UN Security Council to introduce a resolution urging the cessation of military actions by Israel in the Gaza Strip in October 2023. Unfortunately, this draft resolution was blocked by the Western countries, as were many of our other drafts after this.
We totally support all the efforts being made by Egypt to find a peaceful solution to this conflict and to mediate between Hamas and Israel to conclude a real peace agreement. The only possible solution to this conflict should be the creation of an independent Palestinian state, as was stated in the resolution of the UN General Assembly in 1947.
The existence of such a Palestinian state could solve the problems of the Palestinian people, who have been suffering for more than 77 years due to aggression and expulsion from their land. We completely disagree with any plans to relocate the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip to any other regions.
It is necessary to lift the blockade against the Gaza Strip, and we are supportive of Egypt in all its efforts to support the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. We are also very grateful to the Egyptian authorities for their help during the evacuation of Russian nationals from the Gaza Strip.
Russia has called for an Arab-Russian Summit to be held in the country on 15 October. Have there been developments in this regard?
The Arab world is a very important partner for Russia, and we have historical connections to it that date back several centuries. We have developed a very intensive network of cooperation. We have proposed to hold the first Arab-Russian Summit meeting in Moscow on 15 October, and we hope that the leaders of many Arab countries will come to discuss our bilateral relations, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, and the global situation.
The Arab world is one of the most important areas of the world and is a major global player outside the Middle East region.
What is the Russian political and economic orientation towards the African countries?
For the past 10 years, Russia has been returning to Africa, and Egypt is playing a very important role in this regard.
The first Africa-Russia Summit was convened in Russia in the city of Sochi with the help of Egypt, when the country was chair of the African Union (AU). It was co-chaired by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and President Vladimir Putin in 2019.
Since then, we have held the second Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg in 2023 and a Russian-African Ministerial Conference in Sochi in 2024. We are going to continue such meetings to promote our cooperation. Many Russian companies work with African partners and help them to develop their economies. Russia is exporting agricultural commodities to different African countries, and we propose to develop further resources together on a mutually beneficial basis.
How do you view the latest developments in the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine?
Russia is always ready to conclude a real peace agreement to stop the current crisis in our relations with Ukraine. But we stress that it is necessary to address the root causes of this conflict. The root causes lie far from Ukraine. They lie in the expansion of NATO.
The border of NATO is 135 km from the Russian city of St Petersburg, which means that Russia has not come to NATO but NATO has come to Russia. NATO has also tried to make Ukraine a bridgehead in its military expansion in order to create a hotspot at the Russian border.
We are totally ready for peace negotiations. But we need a real, stable, and resilient peace agreement and not just a ceasefire. In the latest negotiations in Turkey, Ukraine and its Western supporters have been talking about a ceasefire, as they want to rearm Ukraine and to deliver more weapons to Ukraine.
We emphasise that Russia needs a real and stable peace, which is why we are talking about the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine. We have to ensure our national security. We need to see Ukraine as a peaceful country that does not threaten Russia.
How are you advancing cooperation on education, culture, and tourism with Egypt?
We are holding Days of Russian Culture here in Egypt, and we are ready to host Days of Egyptian Culture in Russia.
On education, there are thousands of Egyptian students studying in different Russian universities. Egyptian scientists are working at the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research in Dubna. We have many contacts between our science academies and different universities in Egypt, and two Russian universities have branches in Cairo.
On tourism, Egypt is one of the first destinations in the world for Russian tourists. Over one million Russian tourists visit Egypt annually, and there could be more if we had more aircraft flying between our two countries. We believe that if our transportation capacity was higher, more Russians would come to Egypt. There are currently 18 flights per day between different Russian and Egyptian cities.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 5 June, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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