Russia to fly Egyptian astronaut to space next year

Russia welcomed the idea of having an Egyptian astronaut along with an American one flown aboard a Russian space ship in 2002.

Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Boutros Ghali raised the idea during the meeting of the Russian-Egyptian Joint Committee late Tuesday when they discussed cooperation in space sciences.

"Such participation brings awareness to this important side of human activities and marks a serious beginning for cooperation in this field," said Ghali.

Space sciences, remote-sensing and manufacture of medium-range missiles equipped with remote-sensing devices were among the important issues on the committee's agenda.

The committee concluded its works late on Wednesday with a joint statement to be signed by Ghali on the Egyptian side and by Aleksander Dondukov, Minister of Industry and Technology, on the Russian side.