The Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, and Defense and Military Production Minister Sedki Subhi, met in Cairo Tuesday with the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who is currently visiting Egypt.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed means of enhancing and developing cooperation between the armed forces of both countries, especially in the fields of training and armament, exchange of information and expertise, and rehabilitation of the Egyptian military cadres in a number of fields.

Also discussed were the developments in the Middle East and the current regional and international challenges.

later, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov joined the meeting whereas they discussed a number of issues of common concern.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, his Defense Minister Sedki Sobhi, and Foreign Minister Sameh Shurki held meetings on Monday with counterparts Sergey Shoygu and Sergey Lavrov.

“The talks tackled ways to combat this phenomenon. Russia and Egypt will continue to speak against countries harboring terrorists and providing militants a safe haven. Militant groups are using Libya as a staging ground to threaten Egyptian national security,” Shurki said.

Egypt has been hit with a wave of terrorist attacks since 2013, following the military ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, with the Islamic State group focusing on Coptic Christians.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the two Ministers’ visit to Cairo is in line with a tradition initiated in November 2013. The visit “emphasizes the importance of strategic partnership between Russia and Egypt and confirms mutual willingness to further develop and strengthen bilateral ties,” the Ministry said in a statement.

“Egypt is one of Russia’s leading partners in the Middle East, the Arab world and on the African continent. Relations between our countries are based on long friendship and mutual respect, as well as successful cooperation in various spheres,” the Russian Foreign Ministry added.

According to the statement, Russia would like Egypt to be a stable and sustainably developing country. Moreover, Moscow seeks to facilitate effective cooperation with Cairo on the regional and international stage.