Russia and Egypt signed in the presence of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin an agreement to start work on Egypt's nuclear power station and supply it with nuclear fuel.
These agreements provide the basis for initiating actual construction works on the plant.
Putin arrived in Egypt on Sunday for a several-hour visit, during which he held talks on advancing bilateral cooperation frameworks in the political, military and economic fields as well as consultations on a number of regional issues.
More so, Putin addressed resuming direct air travel between the two countries.
"Russian security services have reported that in general we are ready to open direct flights between Moscow and Cairo. We would need to sign the relevant inter-governmental protocol," Putin said.
"We will try to sign it in the nearest future," he added.
The contract to build the plant in Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast was signed during a live ceremony shown on state television and attended by the Russian leader and Egyptian President.
"By realizing this project, Egypt will obtain not just the nuclear plant but also access to the most modern and safe technologies," Putin said after the signing.
The contract was signed by the head of Russian state nuclear company Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, and Egypt's electricity and renewable energy minister, Mohamed Shaker.
A statement by Rosatom said it would build four 1,200-Megawatt reactors "as well as supplying nuclear fuel throughout the plant's entire operational lifetime."
"This will help ensure competitive electricity pricing in Egypt over a period of 60 years," it said.
Rosatom also said it will train the plant's personnel and help Egypt run and maintain the plant for its first 10 years of operation.
Sisi and Putin also discussed Syria and mutual rejection of US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that has triggered protests across the region and from European capitals.
Sisi said that he emphasized to Putin the importance of maintaining the legal status of Jerusalem, within the framework of international references and relevant UN resolutions, and the need not to complicate the situation further and undermine the chances of peace in the Middle East.
