Sisi and Putin sign strategic partnership agreement

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have signed an agreement described by officials as a "strategic cooperation treaty" that aims to strengthen trade and military ties between the two countries.

The agreement was made at the Russian resort city of Sochi, where the two leaders met on Wednesday.

Sisi, who is on his fourth trip to Russia since taking office in 2014 - following a coup he led in 2013 - hailed the agreement as opening a "new chapter in the history" of bilateral relations between Moscow and Cairo.

Following on from Putin's visit to Cairo in December, when Russia signed a deal to build a nuclear power plant in Dabaa, the pair discussed the implementation of the plan and the building of a Russian industrial park along the Suez Canal.

Sisi also emphasised the importance of restoring direct flights between Russia and Egypt's Red Sea tourist resorts.

Direct flights from Russia to Egypt were suspended by Moscow near the end of 2015 when a suspected Islamic State group bomb downed a Russian airliner over the Sinai, killing 224 people.

In April, direct flights between the two countries' capitals resumed, however, direct flights to Egypt's tourist resorts remain suspended.

Speaking on the matter, Putin said that he and Sisi discussed the issue and that Egyptian officials have done "everything necessary to enhance flight security."

"We will try to resume charter flights along those routes in the nearest time," he said.