Egypt views Sisi's White House visit as new phase of Egyptian-U.S. relations

 Egyptian Presidency announced Thursday that the meeting between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in the White House has heralded a new phase of relations between Egypt and the United States.

"President Sisi held significant meetings during his U.S. visit with senior officials of the new administration," state-run MENA news agency quoted spokesman for Egyptian presidency Alaa Youssif as saying.

Egypt's Sisi concluded on Thursday a six-day visit to the United States where he met with Trump and a number of U.S. military, economic and political officials.

The visit came after years of rift in Egypt-U.S. relations following the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi by the army in 2013.

The spokesman said it was clear at all meetings that the U.S. side is very much interested in boosting relations with Egypt, adding that the U.S. officials expressed appreciation for the major Egyptian role in the region.

"They also voiced eagerness to work together for overcoming joint challenges," he added.

The spokesman pointed out that the meetings of the president in the U.S. Defense Department were important as joint military cooperation is one of the most important pillars of relations between the two countries.

"The two sides share the same keenness on cooperation for fighting terrorism," added the spokesman.

The U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis said that he will visit Egypt later this month to resume talks on enhancing joint cooperation in the military and security domains, the spokesman said.

According to Youssif, the Egyptian president also underlined the necessity of stopping supplying terrorist groups with weapons and funds.

"President Sisi also held lengthy talks in the U.S. Congress and met with several House members where he expounded the recent developments in Egypt and the region," the spokesman revealed.

The president held several other meetings with the civil society and business community along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and major U.S. companies that are interested in operating in Egypt, Youssif said.

President Sisi held important meetings with the chiefs of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund where the two international officials lauded the brave economic decisions that have been recently adopted by the Egyptian government, he added.

Meanwhile, Egyptian Interior Minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar praised the outcome of the current visit by Sisi to the U.S., pointing out that the visit will have a positive impact on the fight against terrorism.

In an interview with MENA, Abdel-Ghaffar said that President Sisi and his U.S. counterpart have expressed determination to unify efforts to defeat terrorism.

He said he expects security cooperation between Cairo and Washington to increase in the coming period to put an end to this international phenomenon.

"Since his first day in office, President Sisi has warned of the growing threat of terrorism, not only on Arab countries but also on all the world countries," Abdel-Ghaffar said.

Therefore, he noted, the international community should coordinate efforts to fight terrorism and put an end to terrorist attacks, which hit several European countries recently.

Egyptian Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr announced that the U.S. side expressed keenness on pumping new investments into Egypt in the coming period.

"The U.S. side voiced keenness on investing in several sectors in Egypt, including renewable energy, transportation, industry and infrastructure," Nasr said in a press statement earlier.

The minister said she held a series of meetings with U.S. companies, ahead of President Sisi's visit to Washington, to discuss means of removing obstacles to doing business in Egypt.

She further revealed that a U.S. business delegation will visit Egypt soon.

Commenting on the visit of President Sisi to Washington, the U.S. Embassy's Press Attache in Cairo Brian Shott said on Thursday that talks between Trump and Sisi were "so constructive."

Speaking to reporters, Shott said the visit was a chance to cement relations and partnership between the two countries just as the U.S. president asserted.

The discussions between the two countries would continue and Trump had stressed Washington's commitment to support Egypt in its fight against terrorism, he said, adding that the security cooperation between Egypt and the U.S. was important and a cornerstone for the bilateral relations.

Source: Xinhua