RT held a premiere screening of the film in Cairo to mark the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Egypt

The film tells the story of a Soviet military translator sent on a mission to Egypt in the early 1970s. During his stay in Egypt, the Yom Kippur War began, in which the USSR acted as an ally of the Arab states.

The hero of the film recalls how Soviet students and orientalists were fascinated by Egyptian cinema, how he lived in an officer's dormitory, and how he saw Egypt for the first time. A few decades later, he returns as a tourist to the country he loves so much: wanders through familiar streets, meets old friends, communicates with people and re-immerses himself in the culture of Egypt, to which he devoted most of his life.

The premiere screening was attended by the head of the Egyptian public information service, Dia Rashwan, the Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister for European Affairs, Khaled Imara, the official representative of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Abu Zeid, the Russian Ambassador to Egypt, Georgy Borisenko, as well as representatives of other Egyptian ministries. The event was also attended by representatives of the media, including the newspapers Al-Ahram, Youm7 and Al-Dustour, TV channels Sada El-Balad, TeN TV, MESAT and Al Ghad, and the Middle East News Agency.

“I want to note the role of the media, especially television channels. And I want to emphasize the role that the RT television channel played and is playing. This channel began to play an important role from the very beginning of its creation, even before recent events began to take place both in Europe and the Middle East. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this channel has played a significant role by conveying important information to everyone as well as presenting various documentaries during this very critical period for the entire world. Thank you very much,” said Egypt’s Deputy Foreign Minister for European Affairs Khaled Imara in his welcoming speech.

As Russian Ambassador to Egypt Georgy Borisenko recalled, the countries “fought together for the sovereignty of Egypt during the so-called war of attrition.”

“The victory on October 6, 1973 was won by the Egyptians with Soviet weapons. The film is largely dedicated to this page of joint history. Over the past ten years, Russian-Egyptian relations have experienced a new powerful rise. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi brought the countries’ relations to a new level of strategic partnership,” the diplomat said.

The head of RT Arabic, Maya Manna, emphasized that the RT team is in constant contact with representatives of major Egyptian media.

“And as part of this visit, we agreed on cooperation with Sada El-Balad and Radio Misr. We are confident that our interaction will be fruitful: RT Arabic is ready to share its achievements in the use of the latest technologies in the newsroom and online. And our Egyptian colleagues will help our channel expand its audience in the largest country in the Arab world,” she said.

The film “The Return” will be shown on RT Arabic and the Egyptian TV channels TeN TV and Sada-El Balad.