The latest Egyptian-Russian summit proves once more that relations between Cairo and Moscow are neither transient nor fleeting.
It shows that for the two capitals, these relations are an important anchor in their foreign policy, especially at a time when regional and international alliances are being remade or reconsidered and international geopolitical conditions are changing.
Egypt is an important gateway for Russia into the African continent and the Arab region, two geographical areas where Moscow tries to widen its presence on all fronts.
For the same areas, Russia provides a vital breathing space in a world order that seems to be bidding farewell to its unipolar past and welcoming an order more multipolar in nature.
Despite its current geopolitical, military and political challenges, Russia is still capable of playing a good role in balancing this order, exactly when other rising global powers are proving that the world can no longer be totally controlled by one or two international powers.
African states participating in the current Russia-Africa Summit must be aware of this change in regional conditions. This is probably why the African leaders and country representatives attending the summit have attached a huge importance to it.
For Egypt, Russia is a vital partner at a crucial time for its state building and modernisation efforts, ones that were started by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as soon as he took the reins of power in mid-2014.
Co-operation aspects between the two countries are too many to be surveyed within the limited space of a newspaper article.
However, the nuclear power plant in Dabaa and the Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal region have become symbolic of relations between the two sides in the past few years, offering insights into how these relations can morph into long-term partnerships that shape the future of both countries.
The Dabaa nuclear power plant is important for Egypt’s efforts to diversify its energy sources and reduce dependence on fossil fuels for the generation of energy.
It is also part of efforts by the African country to reduce effects on the environment from power generation.
The Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal region is also important because it will add to other industrial zones in the same region, ones that position Egypt as an industrial base at the crossroads of two continents, namely Africa and Asia.
Egypt wants these two projects to be completed within the timelines agreed upon with its Russian partners earlier, reflecting its keenness on moving its partnership with Russia in this respect into the phase of operation from the phase of implementation.
The same keenness also shows that the two countries still have a lot of work to do together in the future.
