Egypt reaches free trade agreement with EEU
Egypt has reached a free trade zone agreement with the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi said Tuesday at a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sputnik News reported.
There was more than $4.5 billion of trade between Russia and Egypt in 2014, an increase of more than 80 percent over the previous year, said President Putin. The free trade agreement means that the markets of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Armenia will be more easily accessible for Egyptian products and vice versa.
In a historical move, President Putin offered Egypt Russia's full-scale assistance in creating a nuclear power industry in the country.
The two countries' leaders discussed a broad range of international issues, including the Middle East peace process. "We have agreed on the need to maximize efforts to restore the negotiation process between Israelis and Palestinians on a two-state basis, with East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine," Sisi said.
According to the Egyptian president, the sides also expressed the need to preserve the territorial integrity of Libya and Iraq, as well as the urgency for various political forces to reach a consensus.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin began his state visit to Egypt to boost bilateral ties with the Arab republic. Earlier in the day, the Russian leader said that the two countries were increasingly cooperating in such spheres as trade, nuclear energy, space, tourism and agriculture.