Cairo: Egypt and Russia reaffirmed their strategic partnership as Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli met with Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, to review progress on the Dabaa nuclear power plant and explore new areas of cooperation.

According to State Information Service Egypt, during the talks, Madbouli emphasized Egypt's commitment to maintaining close coordination with Russia to ensure the project stays on schedule and meets its execution targets. He praised Moscow's support and highlighted the strong bilateral ties reflected in the joint work on Dabaa. The Prime Minister also expressed Egypt's interest in expanding collaboration to include small modular reactors and training programs for Egyptian specialists.

Likhachev conveyed greetings from President Vladimir Putin to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and outlined Rosatom's current work plan, focusing on construction and installation at the plant's first unit and preparations for operational testing. He thanked Egypt's Ministry of Electricity for facilitating procedures and reaffirmed Rosatom's determination to deliver the project according to the agreed timeline.

Minister of Electricity Mahmoud Esmat confirmed that discussions are already underway with the Russian side on small reactor technology and capacity-building initiatives. The meeting concluded with both parties stressing the importance of sustained consultation and efforts to broaden cooperation beyond the Dabaa project.