The Egyptian Presidency clarified on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will take part, via videoconference, on Tuesday in the official ceremony for laying the foundation for a fourth reactor at Egypt’s El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant.
“Sisi and Putin will participate in a virtual meeting using video conferencing to inaugurate the fourth reactor at the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant that Russia is building in Egypt,” spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency Ahmed Fahmy told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The clarification came after the Kremlin announced last week that Putin will be participating in a significant event in Cairo, without mentioning the video call, leading to reports in the Egyptian and Arab media that the Russian president would be traveling to Egypt.
Fahmy said the ceremony will witness the pouring of the first concrete into the foundation of the fourth power unit at El-Dabaa to prepare for the major construction of the plant, according to a timeframe set since the launch of the project and which is expected to enter full operation in 2028.
“Putin was not scheduled to visit Egypt as reported,” the spokesperson explained, noting that the statement by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was misunderstood because it said the two presidents will attend the ceremony without saying via videoconference.
Last week, Peskov told reporters that Putin's participation at the event in Egypt “is being worked out, it is a very important ceremony.”
He said: “Our cooperation with Egyptian partners in various fields continues,” reported RT Arabia.
Fahmy emphasized the importance of Egypt's nuclear project, saying: “Egypt is moving towards a future based entirely on clean energy and sustainable solutions, and would gradually abandon the use of fossil fuels that caused the climate change crisis.”
He said the El-Dabaa project will not only provide clean energy, but will also demonstrate the close cooperation between Egypt and Russia.
