The Russian Embassy in Cairo congratulated Egyptians on the anniversary of the 23 July revolution this week.

In a tweet on Sunday, the embassy wrote: “Under the regime of late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser, relations between Cairo and Moscow greatly prospered, and now under the regime of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi we see relations between our two countries growing every day… they are expected to reach new heights in the coming few years.”

Diplomatic sources told Russia’s Tass news agency this week that President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi will participate in the second Russia-Africa Summit held in St Petersburg from 27-28 July. President Al-Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin co-chaired the first Russia-Africa Summit, held in Sochi in October 2019 under the motto For Peace, Security, and Development. President Al-Sisi’s visit to St Petersburg this week reflects the extent of bilateral relations between the two countries across the political, economic and military fields, said Tass.

Since coming to office in 2014 President Al-Sisi has been keen to cement relations with Russia, even after Western countries turned their back on Moscow over its war with Ukraine.

Al-Sisi praised Egypt-Russia relations during a speech at last year’s St Petersburg International Economic Forum, noting that the two countries are implementing ambitious projects that will serve both their interests. They include the Dabaa nuclear power plant, the setting up of a Russian Industrial Zone in East Port Said and cooperation to develop the Egyptian railway network.

Georgy Borisenko, Russia’s ambassador to Egypt, says bilateral trade has grown by 60 per cent over the last three years, reaching $6.2 billion in 2022. Russia’s $5.7 billion worth of exports to Egypt makes it Moscow’s largest trading partner in the Middle East and Africa, while Russia is Egypt’s third most important trading partner after the European Union and China. Borisenko said Russian companies are currently operating in the Egyptian market with investments exceeding $7.4 billion, a figure expected to rise once the Russian Industrial Zone is up and running. Russia plans to invest over $7 billion to establish the zone, creating around 35,000 local jobs.

Abdel-Salam Al-Gabali, head of the Senate’s Agricultural Committee, believes that Russian grain exports will be on top of the agenda of the second Russia-Africa Summit. Russia is the largest grain exporter to Egypt, providing for a majority — 4.9 million tonnes — of Egyptian imports in 2022.

“Many African countries, including Egypt, are concerned about Russia’s decision last week to withdraw from the UN-brokered grain deal,” said Al-Gabali. He added that though Cairo has diversified its sources of wheat and grain imports in recent years it still depends on Russia to meet most of its wheat needs.

The Russian embassy also published photos of the arrival of the first shipment of equipment needed for the construction of the Dabaa nuclear power plant on its Twitter account. Alexei Likhachev, head of the Russian nuclear engineering company Rosatom, visited the Dabaa construction site last week and met with Minister of Energy Mohamed Shaker and head of the Egyptian Nuclear Power Plant Administration Amgad Al-Wakil. The $30 billion project is being financed largely through a $25 billion Russian loan. Likhachev explained that Rosatom will supply nuclear fuel throughout the lifecycle of the plant, arrange for the training of Egyptian personnel, and assist in the operation and maintenance of the plant for the first 10 years.

Egyptian analysts say Western sanctions against Russia might have helped Egypt which this year saw a 181 per cent increase in the number of Russian tourists. Sahar Talaat Mustafa, deputy chairman of parliament’s Tourism Committee, said before the war in Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian tourists constituted more than 80 per cent of visitors to the Red Sea resorts of Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada. In the year following the imposition of Western sanctions, the number of Russian tourists visiting Egypt reached nearly one million.

Military cooperation is a key element in the growing relations. Since President Al-Sisi came to office in 2014, Egypt has signed several military deals to buy Russian weapons. According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s 2021 report, of the $15 billion Egypt spent on arms purchases between 2014 and 2017, 60 per cent went to Russia.

Gamal Zahran, professor of politics at Suez Canal University and a former MP, believes Moscow’s welcoming of the 2013 revolution against the Muslim Brotherhood and its 2014 decision to designate the group a terrorist organisation were key factors in bringing Cairo and Moscow closer. When Al-Sisi was elected president in 2014, Vladimir Putin was the first international leader to congratulate him.

Zahran does not think Egypt’s growing closeness to Russia places will place it at odds with the West.

“President Al-Sisi’s visit to St  Petersburg comes within the framework of a Russian-African summit, and the president has always been careful to announce that he is keen to maintain good relations with all world states,” said Zahran.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 27 July, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly