Russia and Egypt signed an agreement yesterday opening the way for Russian firms to bid for lucrative contracts to build nuclear power plants in Egypt.

The nuclear energy deal was signed after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak met near the Russian capital for talks which also covered Moscow's plan to host a Middle East peace conference.

"Egypt, in cooperation with its international partners and the International Atomic Energy Agency is going to develop this (nuclear energy) sector, including through the agreement we have just signed," President Mubarak told reporters.

Egypt wants up to four nuclear power stations and an international tender to build the first of them may come as early as this year. Yesterday's agreement clears the way for Russia's state nuclear contractor to bid for work.

The Kremlin is lobbying hard for contracts to build nuclear power plants abroad because it sees the industry as the type of high-technology sector it must develop to reduce its dependence on oil and gas exports.

Russia is already building nuclear reactors worth $1.5 billion to $2 billion apiece in Iran, China and India.

After about two hours of talks at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence, Mr Putin said his officials were consulting with the US and Middle East countries about hosting a regional peace conference in Moscow.

Russia is a member of the quartet of Middle East mediators with the US, UN and EU.

The Kremlin is seeking a bigger mediation role as it tries to re-establish itself as a Middle East power broker, a role it largely lost when the Soviet Union collapsed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on a tour of the Middle East last week the Moscow conference would be a follow-up to the US-hosted meeting in Annapolis late last year that restarted Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

But Mr Putin suggested he saw the Moscow conference as distinct from Annapolis, signalling that Russia did not plan to play a junior role to the US in the peace process.