Why Egypt and Russia are so close

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As announced on Tuesday, Russia could receive 40,000 Egyptian-made missiles. This is evident from leaked secret documents available to the Washington Post. But how close are the two countries really?

As “Focus” reports, the two countries have had a diplomatic relationship for 80 years. Egypt is increasingly turning away from the West and towards Russia. The countries recently celebrated their anniversary, on which Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (68) congratulated Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin (70) by telephone. As the magazine writes, citing an Egyptian government spokesman, the “need for Egyptian-Russian relations” was underlined.

Egypt does not want to jeopardize relations with Russia

Accordingly, when it comes to the war in Ukraine, Egypt is siding with Russia. Apart from the disapproval expressed by Egypt at a UN General Assembly in March 2022, there has been no public criticism of the country’s war so far. Instead, the Northeast African country criticizes the ongoing sanctions against Russia.

According to ARD correspondent in Cairo, Anne Allmeling, there is a simple reason for this: “The government does not want to jeopardize relations with Russia, does not want to upset Russia. It does not speak of a war of aggression against Ukraine. There is a world crisis that has led to rising prices,” the correspondent told SRF.

Egypt’s position can therefore be traced back to its enormous economic dependence on Russia. The country is particularly struggling with rising grain prices. Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Egypt was the world’s largest importer of wheat. As Egypt wants to prevent popular uprisings over food shortages, the government now depends on Russia as an ally.

Kremlin builds nuclear power plant and industrial zone in Egypt

A nuclear power plant will also be built in the Egyptian capital Cairo. It is built and operated by the Russian state-owned company Rosatom. This should also supply the uranium fuel for the nuclear power plant.

The Kremlin would also have a hand in the labor market: according to the American-Arab newspaper “Al-Monitor”, Putin would have promised Egypt to build an industrial area near the Suez Canal. This could create around 35,000 new jobs. At the same time, this means further economic dependence on Russia for Egypt.

However, the diplomatic relationship with Egypt also has advantages for Putin: for the head of the Kremlin, Egypt is the gateway to the Middle East – or even the entire African continent. To further deepen relations with Africa, the Russian President is inviting this year’s second Russia – Africa Summit to St. Petersburg.

Should Egypt actually make a secret arms shipment to Russia, it could seriously weaken relations with the US and the West. In the United States, dissatisfaction with Egypt’s actions is already palpable. (dzc)

Source: Blick