Egypt and Russia signed a contract on Monday for the building of Egypt's first nuclear power plant, during a visit to Cairo by President Vladimir Putin.

The contract to build the plant in Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast was signed during a live ceremony shown on state television and attended by the Russian leader and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

"By realising this project, Egypt will obtain not just the nuclear plant but also access to the most modern and safe technologies," Putin said after the signing.

The contract was signed by the head of Russian state nuclear company Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, and Egypt's electricity and renewable energy minister, Mohamed Shaker.