Sisi Says Discussed Creation of Russian Industrial Hub in Egypt

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says discussed creation of Russian industrial hub in Egypt as part of latest Suez Canal development project.

“An important agreement was reached to establish cooperation between Egypt and the Customs Union [of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan],” said the Russian President Vladimir Putin. “And now we are looking at a possibility of creating a free trade zone.”

He noted that this subject had been discussed at a meeting of the council of the Common Economic Space on July 7.

The two presidents also agreed upon the creation of a Russian industrial zone in Egypt, which will be part of a new Suez Canal project.

“Our talks have opened great prospects in this area. I hope that the creation of the Russian industrial zone in Egypt will become a component that will supplement the new Suez Canal project, which Egypt presented last week,” Sisi said.

Egypt launched a Suez Canal development project worth $4 billion earlier in August. The project envisages digging a new canal parallel to the original built 145 years ago with the aim of speeding up traffic along the existing waterway and boosting the country’s economy.

Source: Reuters