Egypt discusses return of Russian tourists

Egypt’s Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal yesterday held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Naryshkin in Cairo the possibility of resuming the flow of Russian tourists to Egypt.

The officials also discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to strengthen them as well as other regional issues including the Syrian crisis.

In a joint press conference held following their meeting, Abdel Aal said he had discussed increasing the number of Russian tourists to Egypt and the possibility of resuming Russian flights which stopped after the fall of a Russian passenger plane in October.

The statement said the two officials looked forward to the resumption of flights between the two countries soon, especially as Egypt is an important tourist destination for Russians.

Naryshkin told reporters: “We have discussed in detail the resumption of the Russian tourist flow to Egyptian resorts, and we are certain that we can resolve the issues soon.”

The Russian delegation arrived in Cairo yesterday as part of an official two-day visit.

According to official figures, 3.1 million Russian tourists visited Egypt last year, more than any other nationality.