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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends, I wish you a warm welcome to the Kremlin.

We know very well the good relations that our friendly countries built up over the past years and decades. It really is a great pleasure to welcome the Egyptian President to Moscow today.

Let me start this meeting by congratulating you on the launch of the expanded Suez Canal. This is a big event in Egypt’s economic life. This project was your initiative and was carried out under your leadership, and it is a significant event.

Of course, Egypt is a key country in this region and it doesn’t live just off the revenue generated by the Suez Canal alone. Egypt is a very promising country. It is my hope that we will continue to develop our bilateral relations and this will help us to advance and develop our economies and social sectors, and our people will see the positive trends that this cooperation brings.

We are very happy to see you. Welcome, Mr President.

President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (retranslated): Mr President,

First of all, I want to thank you for your hospitality and warm reception. This is now our fourth meeting, which underscores the special nature of relations between Egypt and the Russian Federation.

Mr President, the Egyptian people look to each of our meetings with hope and the desire to see us continue to develop and strengthen our relations in all sectors and areas. Not just in the economy, but also in the fight against terrorism, particularly in our region, the Middle East, which is shaken today by serious challenges due to terrorism and extremism.

 Mr President, we are fighting this scourge not only through the use of force, but also by developing our country’s economy and social sphere. In this context, I want to thank you for the fact that Russia was represented at such high level by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the ceremony reopening the Suez Canal. It was an important gesture when we saw Russian naval vessels sail the new Suez Canal. Thank you, Mr President.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

You have raised a very important issue – one of the most important – the fight against terrorism. I hope very much to have the chance during your visit to discuss economic matters too. Incidentally, our two countries’ bilateral trade increased by 86 percent last year. I also want to discuss with you the situation in the region in general, the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and the fight against terrorism. Egypt has a key part to play in all of these issues.

Thank you for accepting our invitation.

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi: Mr President, I am grateful for this opportunity to meet with you.

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