page_title: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
section_title: Russia
hierarchical_section_title: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi / Presidency (2014–present) / Foreign policy / Russia
caption_attribution_description: English: With President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.Русский: С Президентом Арабской Республики Египет Абдельфаттахом Сиси.
context_page_description: Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi is an Egyptian politician who is the sixth and current President of Egypt, former Director of Military Intelligence, former Minister of Defence, and former General. Starting 10 February 2019, Sisi also began serving a one-year term as Chairperson of the African Union, which concluded in 2020.
  Sisi was born in Cairo and after joining the Egyptian Army, held a post in Saudi Arabia before enrolling in the Egyptian Army's Command and Staff College. In 1992, Sisi trained at the Joint Services Command and Staff College at Watchfield, Oxfordshire, in the United Kingdom, and then in 2006 trained at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Sisi served as a mechanized infantry commander and then as director of military intelligence. After the Egyptian revolution of 2011 and election of Mohamed Morsi to the Egyptian presidency, Sisi was appointed Minister of Defence by Morsi on 12 August 2012, replacing the Mubarak-era Hussein Tantawi.
context_section_description: Both military and political relations between Egypt and Russia witnessed significant improvements after Morsi's overthrow coinciding with the deterioration in relations between the United States and Egypt, once considered its important ally in the Middle East. Unlike the US, Russia supported Sisi's actions from the start, including his presidential bid. Russia reportedly offered Egypt a huge military weapons deal after the US had suspended some military aid and postponed weapons delivery to Egypt. The Russian President Vladimir Putin was the first to congratulate Sisi on his inauguration. Sisi made Russia his first destination abroad as defence minister after being promoted to the rank of Field Marshal where he met with the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Minister of Defence General Sergey Shoygu to negotiate an arms deal with Russia instead of the United States. 
  Sisi also visited Russia as an Egyptian President at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The visit was described by Putin as reflective of "the special nature" of the relation between the two countries. Sisi was welcomed by General Sergey Shoygu who showed him different Russian-made military vehicles and weapons in the airport. Moscow's Vedemosti business daily reported that Russia and Egypt are nearing a $3 billion (2.2 billion euro) weapons agreement. President Putin also accompanied him to visit the Russian cruiser Moskva before they gave a joint televised statement. Sisi announced in his statement that there was a new plan of "renewing and developing" giant projects established by the former Soviet Union. President Putin announced that an agreement has been reached to increase Egypt's supply of agricultural goods to Russia by 30 percent while his country will provide Egypt with 5 to 5.5 million tons of wheat. In addition, a free trade zone was also being discussed.
  On 11 December 2017, during President Vladimir Putin's visit to Cairo, the two countries signed agreements in which Russia would build Egypt's first nuclear reactor, and supply nuclear fuel for the same. It was also agreed that a "Russian Industrial Zone" would be built along the Suez Canal, explained by Putin as being "the biggest regional center for producing Russian products onto the markets of the Middle-East and North Africa."
caption: Sisi and Vladimir Putin meeting on 10 February 2015
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