On Monday, 12 February, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on his first official visit to Cairo.

According to a statement released by the Office of the Presidency, President El Sisi “underscored the robust strategic relations between Egypt and the U.S. and confirmed the need to continue to work on promoting them,” and “reviewed Egypt’s current efforts to combat terrorism in a comprehensive manner to eradicate it, in parallel with its efforts to achieve economic and social development.”

President El Sisi further noted “that Egypt looks forward to forging closer economic cooperation with the U.S. and to increasing American investments in Egypt.”

The talks also touched on regional issues, including the situation in Libya and Syria, and efforts to reach political settlements to ongoing crises. On the Palestinian issue, President El Sisi “reiterated Egypt’s clear and unwavering position with regard to reaching a just and comprehensive solution that ensures the rights of the Palestinian people and the establishment of their independent state along the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” adding “that the U.S., as the key sponsor of the Middle East peace process, shall revive and push forward the negotiating process in line with international resolutions.”

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

— —

President El Sisi Meets U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson

Today, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

On his first official visit to Cairo, Secretary of State Tillerson conveyed the greetings of U.S. President Donald Trump to President El Sisi. He reiterated that Egypt is a key partner of the U.S., and emphasized the two countries’ longstanding relations which the U.S. is committed to strengthening and further advancing. The U.S. Secretary of State stressed that his country stands by Egypt and is committed to supporting it in its war on terrorism.

President El Sisi underscored the robust strategic relations between Egypt and the U.S. and confirmed the need to continue to work on promoting them across various areas so as to address the common challenges they are facing. President El Sisi reviewed Egypt’s current efforts to combat terrorism in a comprehensive manner to eradicate it, in parallel with its efforts to achieve economic and social development. The President noted that Egypt looks forward to forging closer economic cooperation with the U.S. and to increasing American investments in Egypt.

The meeting addressed ways to enhance various aspects of bilateral relations. It also focused on regional dossiers, including the situation in Libya and Syria, and efforts exerted to reach political settlements to ongoing crises.

On the Palestinian issue, President El Sisi reiterated Egypt’s clear and unwavering position with regard to reaching a just and comprehensive solution that ensures the rights of the Palestinian people and the establishment of their independent state along the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. He added that the U.S., as the key sponsor of the Middle East peace process, shall revive and push forward the negotiating process in line with international resolutions. Secretary of State Tillerson stated that the goal of the current American administration under President Trump is to reach a just solution to the issue, and confirmed that it will continue its efforts to reach this objective.