Russia and Egypt agreed to sign a civil aviation security protocol ahead of the anticipated resumption of air service between the two countries, but Egypt still needs to fulfill a laundry list of Russian requirements to upgrade airport security measures, Russian news agency TASS reports. The agreement allows Moscow to set up a committee made up of Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) experts who would be solely concerned with monitoring safety measures in Egyptian airports. It is unclear whether the committee would continue its work once air travel officially resumes, but the report says that the experts would be able to okay or refuse flights from Egypt to the Russian Federation based on an airline’s level of compliance with Moscow’s stipulations. Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy is expected to sign the protocol in an upcoming visit to Moscow, whose dates are yet to be announced, according to Ahram Online. Fathy was set to visit Moscow on 8-9 February, as we had previously noted.

Also from Russia: The state-owned Rostec Corporation has plans to expand its presence in Egypt to accommodate the “growing number of military and technical cooperation orders,” including one for helicopters, the company’s International Cooperation Director Victor Kladov told reporters, according to Sputnik.