BICOM

Russia will help build Egypt’s first nuclear power plant, Russian President Vladimir Putin said last night during a state visit to Egypt to meet with President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.

President Putin was speaking at the end of a two-day trip to Cairo where increased trade and arms deals were discussed by the two leaders.

According to AP, Putin said, “If final decisions are made, it will mean not just building a nuclear power plant, it means the creation of the entire new atomic industry in Egypt.” According to Russian sources, an agreement was signed to build a four-reactor plant which would produce 4.8GW of electricity in total.

The US State Department appeared to back the deal, saying, “we support peaceful nuclear power programs as long as obligations under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty …  are fully met.”

Egypt has historically been a close ally of the United States and is the largest recipient of US military aid in the region after Israel. However, US-Egypt relations have cooled since al-Sisi took power. President Putin’s visit has been seen by some as an Egyptian attempt to hedge their diplomatic bets.

Egypt rolled out the red carpet for the Russian President’s visit, with large posters of Putin put on lamp-posts throughout Cairo. The Financial Times reported that he was “greeted with a motorcade that included soldiers on horseback waving the Russian flag, a military band blaring martial music and schoolchildren screaming the Russian president’s name as he shook hands with dignitaries.” Mr Putin presented al-Sisi with his own AK-47 rifle as a gift.

The two leaders reportedly discussed Syria, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other regional issues as well as mooted a $3bn arms deal.