On Sunday, 26 June, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with a U.S. Congressional Delegation headed by Representative Dana Rohrabacher, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats.

According to a statement released by the Office of the Presidency, President El Sisi “underscored the strategic relations that bind Egypt and the U.S.” and emphasized the “importance of military cooperation between the two countries as a key pillar of these relations”.

President El Sisi also “spoke of the need to combat terrorism and extremist thought through a comprehensive approach that integrates all military and security aspects along with intellectual and cultural dimensions.”

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

President El Sisi Meets US Congressional Delegation

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met on Sunday with a US Congressional Delegation headed by the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats, Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

President El Sisi welcomed the members of the delegation and underscored the strategic relations that bind Egypt and the US. He also emphasized Egypt’s commitment to enhancing and strengthening the relations in various fields. The President highlighted the historic and longstanding relations between the two countries and stressed the need to counter mutual challenges, primarily terrorism.

Members of the Congressional delegation commended Egypt’s political and economic progress over the past two years, and highlighted the efforts and contribution of its political leadership to combating terrorism and enforcing security and stability not only at the regional and international levels. They confirmed the longstanding and steadfast strategic relations between Egypt and the US and lauded Egypt’s pivotal role to bridge the gap between cultures, in addition to its tireless efforts to entrench the values of citizenship and equality among the Egyptian people.

President El Sisi reviewed the overall developments in Egypt over the past few years, pointing out its success to realize the milestones of the “Roadmap to the Future”. He confirmed that the Egyptian constitution encompasses unprecedented clauses in terms of enhancing the rule of law and democracy. The President also emphasized that Egypt is committed to upholding the values of non-discrimination and citizenship among its people.

President El Sisi reiterated that Egyptian-American relations are strong and multi-faceted and encompass a range of cooperation areas that Egypt looks forward to enhancing. He emphasized the importance of military cooperation between the two countries as a key pillar of these relations. Members of the US Congressional delegation noted that the US values its strategic relations with Egypt, pointing out the importance of enhancing economic and investment relations with Egypt in various areas. The President welcomed American investments in Egypt and commended the existing cooperation with the US in this regard.

Discussions on counter-terrorism efforts dominated the meeting, and the President spoke of the need to combat terrorism and extremist thought through a comprehensive approach that integrates all military and security aspects along with intellectual and cultural dimensions. He also stressed the need to rectify the religious discourse and purge the image of Islam from misconceptions that totally violate the essence of true Islam and its teachings. The meeting also addressed the need for concerted international efforts to stop the flow of funding to terrorist and extremist groups as well as fighting them all, given the fact that they all share the same extremist ideology.

Members of the US Congressional delegation reiterated the need to support Egypt in its fight against terrorism and wished it success in proceeding with its comprehensive development process.
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