In Egypt, Hurghada opened a Russian consulate

In the Egyptian resort city of Hurghada, the Consulate General of Russia officially began to work, the head of the diplomatic mission, Consul General Jamshed Boltayev, told RIA Novosti.

"Our citizens have been dealing with various issues since the first day of the Consulate General's work," he said.

As Boltayev specified, at the moment the consulate is working in test mode. In the building, according to the head of the diplomatic mission, computer equipment is not fully configured. The full mission will begin its work at the end of February, said the Consul General. Then it will be able to issue visas and passports.

The staff of the diplomatic mission, according to Boltayev, includes three diplomats, as well as administrative staff.

At the moment, the source said, “the colony of Russian citizens living in Hurghada, has about 20 thousand people.”

“These are Russian citizens who married Egyptians, and people who live here in the season,” he said, adding that “there are also those who live in the resort for medical reasons.”

The decision to open the Consulate General of Russia in Hurghada was in November 2015, the corresponding order was adopted by the Russian government, RIA Novosti reported.

Earlier in late October 2015, Russian-Egyptian flights were suspended. The Russian authorities resorted to such measures after the terrorist attack on board the Kogalymavia airline, en route Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg. As a result of the incident, 224 people died.

At the end of December last year, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said that flights between Moscow and the Egyptian capital could resume in January 2017. “This is very likely to open regular communication with Cairo,” he said.