Cairo, 11 Feb - (ANA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Egyptian counterpart yesterday and agreed a deal to build a nuclear plant, as he sought to boost ties on his first visit to Cairo in a decade. The two-day visit came with the Kremlin bidding to strengthen relations with the Arab world's most populous country at a time when Cairo's alliance with Washington has frayed. Putin is a key non-Arab backer of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has faced US criticism for his deadly crackdown on opponents since he ousted Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Their meeting in Cairo follows a 2011 uprising that toppled ex-strongman Hosni Mubarak, whom the Russian leader met on his previous trip in 2005. Experts say Putin's visit was also aimed at showing he is not isolated internationally despite the crisis in Ukraine, where Russia is accused of fomenting and sustaining a rebellion. Putin and Sisi made a brief statement after officials signed a memorandum of understanding to build a nuclear power plant in Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast -- Egypt's first such facility. "If we can reach final decisions, then we can create a new sector in the Egyptian economy based on the construction of the plant, the training of technical staff and development of scientific research," Putin said. Egypt had taken steps in the early 1980s to launch a nuclear plant to produce electricity in Dabaa but it was shut down after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. In 2008 Putin had overseen along with then visiting Egyptian president Mubarak the signing of a deal enabling Moscow to bid for the construction of the nuclear power plant in Dabaa. The two countries also agreed to create a Russian industrial zone along the Suez Canal, whose expansion is a key project undertaken by Sisi. (ANA)

FA/ANA/11 February 2015------