Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi for talks focusing on ways to boost trade between the two nations.
The two leaders have developed a close personal rapport and are seeking to expand bilateral ties, which have strengthened considerably over the past few years.
"We are very glad to see our friends in Russia and share opinions on the development of bilateral relations and on regional problems here in Sochi today," Putin said, starting off the restricted negotiations.
The Russian leader stressed that the economic ties between the two countries are successfully developing. "Last year we stated a sharp 62% growth in the trade turnover, plus 28% in the first six months of this year," TASS cited him as saying.
Putin stressed that it is the result of the diversification of bilateral ties. "They are rather diversified. They include agriculture, industry, equipment and vehicles," the Russian president added.
El-Sissi called on Russia to resume direct flights to Egyptian resorts, which Moscow suspended after a bomb planted by the ISIS brought a Russian passenger plane down over Sinai in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board.
