El-Sisi holds talks with Putin on sidelines of BRICS summit in China

Egypt’s president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday, on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the Chinese city of Xiamen, state-run news agency MENA reported.The meeting included talks on several bilateral and international topics of a common interest. According to the presidency spokesperson Alaa Youssef, Putin praised the increase in trade between the two countries, as well as the bilateral coordination on regional and international issues. Meanwhile, El-Sisi invited Putin to attend a celebration at the site of the Dabaa nuclear-power station, which Egypt is planning to build with Russian assistance. El-Sisi is also expected to holding bilateral meetings with his Chinese and Indian counterparts during the three-day summit, as well as meeting with a number of large Chinese companies investing in Egypt.Earlier today, Sisi delivered a speech before the BRICS Business Forum, where he spoke of Egypt’s economic reform program, and related reforms of the subsidy system and social security system.