Russia interested in tourism exchange and resumption of air service with Egypt - Duma speaker

MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/. Russia is interested in resuming air service and tourism exchange with Egypt, State Duma Speaker Sergey Naryshkin said on Wednesday at the meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. "We are interested in resuming tourism exchange, and this fact is confirmed by Russia’s decision to open a Consulate General in Hurghada, one of Egypt’s tourist capitals," Naryshkin said. According to Naryshkin, Russian and Egyptian specialists are "actively" working on the issue of ensuring security on flights from Moscow to Egypt and resuming air service and tourist exchange between the two countries. "Specialists in transport and air security both from Russia and Egypt are working on this together. And as far as we know, there is progress, and the progress is considerable," the Duma speaker noted. "The main thing here is to create all conditions to prevent a terrorist attack from happening again," Naryshkin concluded. Russia suspended air service with Egypt after a Russian passenger plane crashed over Sina last October. The A321 plane belonging to Russia’s air company Kogalymavia was en route from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to St. Petersburg in Russia (flight KGL 9268) when it crashed over the Sinai Peninsula early on October 31 last year. The plane fell near El Hasna populated locality 100km to the south of Al-Arish, the administrative center of the North Sinai Governorate (province). All the 224 people onboard, including 217 passengers and the 7-member crew, died. The passengers, most of whom were Russians, also included four Ukrainians and one citizen of Belarus. Read more