Vladimir Putin met in Xiamen with President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to discuss development of bilateral cooperation in various areas.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends,

Please accept my warmest greetings.

It has been a long time since our last meeting, although our relations continue to show very positive development and our colleagues are in ongoing contact with each other in practically all areas.

I am particularly pleased with the recovery in our economic ties. Growth came to 1.6 percent in 2016, and in the first half of this year, it was already at 14 percent.

We work actively together on settling regional conflicts and I thank you very much for this cooperation. Egypt makes a significant contribution to settling very serious regional crises.

I am pleased to have this chance to meet today and discuss these issues with you.

President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (retranslated): Mr President,

Thank you very much for this chance to meet and discuss our two countries’ cooperation in different areas. I value this greatly and thank you for this meeting.

I would like to inform you that we have completed the formalities for approving the contract to build the nuclear power plant at al-Dabaa. We welcome this and hope that you will be present together with me at the contract’s official signing. This would be a good opportunity to welcome you once more on Egyptian soil.

Regarding regional conflicts, above all Syria and Libya, we seek to play the most positive role in settling these conflicts. I am referring to the need to combat terrorism and preserve these countries’ unity and territorial integrity. This is a fundamental goal that we pursue. We count on your support in our efforts to reach this goal.