Relationship dossier
Egypt
Russia
Relationship assessment
Substantial cooperation in arms, nuclear energy and tourism, alongside Egypt’s independent approach to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Egypt toward Russia
+45Egypt has pursued Russian military equipment and agreed to a Russian-backed nuclear power project at El Dabaa. It has also maintained an independent position on Russia’s war in Ukraine, abstaining on a 2022 UN resolution condemning the invasion.
Russia toward Egypt
+45Russia has supplied military equipment to Egypt and supported the El Dabaa nuclear power project. After suspending direct flights following the 2015 Sinai aircraft bombing, Russia resumed flights to Egypt in 2018.
Overall relationship
+45The relationship is underpinned by sustained cooperation in military procurement, nuclear energy and tourism, with the El Dabaa project representing a major long-term arrangement. Egypt’s independent stance on the war in Ukraine is a potential point of divergence, but the principal bilateral pattern remains cooperative.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Egypt and Russia have built substantial cooperation in arms procurement, energy and tourism. Egypt has pursued Russian military equipment and agreed to a Russian-backed nuclear power project at El Dabaa. Russia has supplied military equipment and supported the nuclear project, while resuming direct flights to Egypt after their suspension following the 2015 Sinai aircraft bombing. Egypt has also maintained an independent position on Russia’s war in Ukraine, including abstaining on a 2022 UN resolution condemning the invasion.
Key developments
Egypt and Russia signed an agreement for Russian construction and financing of the El Dabaa nuclear power plant.
Russia resumed direct flights to Egypt after suspending them following the 2015 Sinai aircraft bombing.
Egypt abstained on a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Major uncertainties
- The scale and implementation of arms and energy cooperation may have changed over time.
- The extent to which Egypt’s position on the war in Ukraine affects bilateral cooperation is unclear.