President Sisi’s U.S. Visit to strengthen cooperation

US President Donald Trump will receive his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi on April 9th in Washington, the White House announced. The two leaders will discuss strengthening the strategic partnership between the United States and Egypt and consolidating their "strong cooperation" in the military, economic and counter-terrorism fields.

Egyptian Presidency spokesman Bassam Radi announced in a statement that president Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi had received an invitation from his American counterpart Donald Trump to travel to Washington in April. The visit is part of the meetings between the two presidents to strengthen Egypt’s relations with the United States and serve the strategic interests of both countries, Radi said.

The visit “is also part of the bilateral consultations on the latest developments in the region, including improved regional economic integration, ongoing conflicts and Egypt’s long-standing role as a pillar of regional stability” the spokesman added.

U.S. military assistance to Cairo is about $1.3 billion a year

Egypt has long been a strategic ally of Washington, and the U.S. military assistance to Cairo is about $1.3 billion a year. President Donald Trump already received president Abdel Fattah Al -Sisi in the White House two years ago. Ostensibly turning the page on the Obama administration’s criticism of human rights, he then bluntly praised the role of the man who leads Egypt with an iron fist.

“I want everyone to know that we are clearly behind President Sisi, he has done a fantastic job in a very difficult context,” he said. In particular, the White House had welcomed “the courageous efforts” of the Egyptian President “to promote a moderate conception of Islam”. The former head of the Egyptian army deposed his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi in 2013 before being elected president a year later.