Russia is set to open a consulate in the Egyptian city of Hurghada in the Red Sea governorate, according to the statement released by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, state-owned news agency Rossiya Segodnya reported.
The statement said the consulate’s mission will be to ensure the safety of Russian tourists in Hurghada and other Egyptian resorts on the Red Sea.
It will also help develop economic and touristic relations between both Egypt and Russia.
Russia recently decided to suspend all of its flights to Egypt until the reasons behind the A321 Metrojet Russian plane crash in Sinai are revealed. Moscow also decided to suspend EgyptAir flights from landing in Russian airports.
Egyptian Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou estimated Egypt’s loss to be $281m due to the Russian suspension. Russian tourists made up to 31% of the total number of tourists that visited Egypt in 2014, nearly 3.16 million Russian tourists.
The Russian Metojet plane crashed half an hour after it left the resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh en route to St. Petersburg, killing all 224 passengers aboard, mostly Russians. The crash site is 100 km south of the administrative centre of North Sinai governorate, in the city of Al-Arish.
Russian investigations revealed that a bomb was likely detonated from inside the plane, causing it to crash.
