Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev was heading to Egypt on Tuesday to sign a strategic cooperation pact with Cairo, and speak to the Arab League, as Russia seeks to boost its diplomatic clout in the Middle East.
Russia's economic and trade ties and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are expected to be high on the agenda when he meets Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, the first stop on a four-nation Africa tour.
"The signing of an agreement on a strategic partnership between Russia and Egypt will become the central event of the Cairo summit," the Kremlin said in a statement.
Medvedev's visit comes after a trip to Egypt by U.S. President Barack Obama, who sought to reach out to the Muslim world in a landmark address in Cairo earlier this month.
Russia, part of the diplomatic "quartet" charged with settling the Middle East conflict along with the European Union, the United Nations and the United States, is eager to strengthen its diplomatic and commercial clout abroad.
Russia has long had friendly ties with the region, which used to be a stronghold of Soviet influence before the end of the Cold War and the subsequent surge of U.S. dominance.
In an apparent effort to underscore the significance of Russia's ties with the Arab world, Medvedev was set to address the Arab League and meet its chief, Amr Mussa.
Russia has been pressing for years to revive the dormant Middle East peace process, and has been keen to host an international peace conference by the year's end.
The Kremlin, however, said ahead of Medvedev's visit that it didn't want to host an event that turned out to be unimportant.
"We don't need a conference in a package with a ribbon. We need a conference that would mean a real step forward," an unidentified Kremlin official told the Interfax news agency.
Traditionally friendly ties with Cairo have been soured by a trade dispute when Egyptian authorities last month ordered the return of a shipment of Russian wheat, saying it was contaminated with insects and heavy metals.
With trade turnover of $4.1 billion last year, Egypt is Russia's largest trading partner in Africa.
Russia has also expressed interest in a $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion tender to construct Egypt's first atomic power station, which would resume the country's nuclear program after a 20-year freeze.