CAIRO — Russian diplomats have been busy in Cairo, meeting with Egyptian officials and the local media to promote the so-called Sputnik V, a vaccine developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute — even though clinical trials have not been completed on the drug, and the Chinese seem to be spearheading the race for an agreement with Egypt.

Following only two months of testing, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin approved the drug in mid-August and the country began to market the medication as “Sputnik V, the first registered vaccine against COVID-19.” 

In an Aug. 19 interview with Egypt’s state news agency MENA, Georgy Borisenko, the Russian ambassador in Cairo, said that Moscow is looking forward to “establishing a partnership” with Egypt to produce Sputnik V. Borisenko stated that he had informed the Egyptian ministries of foreign affairs and health about the possibility of holding bilateral discussions on producing the vaccine in Egypt and provided their ministers with “all the necessary information.”

The Russian diplomat said the vaccine could be a basis for further development of Egyptian-Russian relations. The trade exchange between the two countries reached $6.2 billion in 2019, “making Moscow one of the top 10 trading partners of Egypt," he underlined.