On Saturday, 8 September, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with U.S. CENTCOM Commander Joseph L. Votel in Cairo.

According to a statement released by the Office of the Presidency, President El Sisi “confirmed the importance of the growing strategic relations between Egypt and the U.S., particularly ongoing military cooperation,” and “welcomed the launch of the joint exercise Bright Star 2018 scheduled to take place in September (8th-20th).”

The statement also noted that the meeting “touched on ways to enhance military cooperation between Egypt and the U.S.” and “the latest regional developments, in light of ongoing crises in a number of countries in the region.”

For more information, see the release below from the Office of the Presidency.

President El Sisi Meets U.S. CENTCOM Commander

Today, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with the CENTCOM Commander, General Joseph L. Votel.

President El Sisi confirmed the importance of the growing strategic relations between Egypt and the U.S., particularly ongoing military cooperation. The President welcomed the launch of the joint exercise “Bright Star 2018” scheduled to take place in September 8-20. This is in addition to the implementation of joint training between the two sides over the past days to exchange expertise in the area of counter-terrorism. In this context, the President reviewed developments pertinent to counterterrorism efforts at various levels.

The CENTCOM Commander lauded the strong and solid military relations between the two countries and affirmed his country’s keenness to continue developing and strengthening partnership with Egypt at various levels. He referred to the “Bright Star 2018” exercise as a demonstration of the importance and strength of military cooperation between the two countries especially in light of the circumstances that the region is experiencing, which requires concerted efforts to confront challenges that threaten the security and stability of the region and the world. General Votel valued Egypt’s counterterrorism efforts and lauded its role in reinforcing regional security and stability.

The meeting touched on ways to enhance military cooperation between Egypt and the U.S., in addition to the latest regional developments, in light of ongoing crises in a number of countries in the region.