(Reuters) -Russian Security Council secretary Sergei Shoigu arrived in Cairo on Sunday leading a large delegation of senior arms and nuclear officials for military talks with Egypt’s leadership, RIA news agency reported.
Shoigu is due to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s national security adviser, foreign and defence ministers, as well as other senior security and intelligence officials, RIA reported.
“Priority topics include the prospects for carrying out agreements reached at the highest level, including in military and military-technical cooperation,” RIA cited a statement from the Russian Security Council’s press service as saying.
Shoigu, a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin and former defence minister who oversaw much of Russia’s war in Ukraine, remains a central power broker in the defence and security apparatus and a key voice in Kremlin decisions.
Russia and Egypt maintain close ties, combining Soviet-era military links with major energy and grain deals, while Cairo balances relations with Moscow, Western partners and Gulf allies amid the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
The Russian delegation includes officials from arms exporter Rosoboronexport, the space agency Roscosmos, nuclear agency Rosatom, as well as from the interior, foreign, justice and industry ministries, and the National Guard, RIA reported.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne, editing by Deepa Babington)
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