Egypt-US partnership critical in combatting Islamic State: Congressman Reschenthaler

CAIRO – 14 August 2021: Republican Congressman Guy Reschenthaler, representative of the 14th District of Pennsylvania, labeled the partnership between Egypt and the US as “critical” in countering the Islamic State (IS).

He also said the Egypt-US partnership is needed to thwart threats in the Mediterranean and support Israel.

“The US-Egypt strategic partnership is critical to combatting ISIS, countering adversary threats in the Mediterranean Sea, and supporting our ally Israel,” Reschenthaler wrote on Twitter.

He retweeted a tweet by the Egyptian Embassy in the United States announcing that Egypt and the US in September will lead 18 allied nations in a joint military exercise across air, land and sea.

The exercise aims to promote security and peace in the Middle East, the embassy’s tweet added.

“As a Navy veteran, I’m proud to see the US and Egypt working together next month to promote stability in the Middle East,” Reschenthaler commented.

The U.S.-Egypt strategic partnership is critical to combatting ISIS, countering adversary threats in the Mediterranean Sea, and supporting our ally Israel.

As a Navy veteran, I’m proud to see the U.S. and Egypt working together next month to promote stability in the Middle East. https://t.co/1UF44VjsdY

— Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (@GReschenthaler) August 11, 2021

The embassy’s statement quoted Ambassador Motaz Zahran as saying that Egypt in the 1970s with the assistance of the US “planted the seeds of peace … by signing a treaty with Israel”.

“Since then, Egypt and the US have continued to work together towards peace and stability despite ever-evolving threats,” Zahran added.

Zahran hailed the “tremendous support” exerted to foster the bilateral relations between Egypt and the US from the Biden administration as well as the “overwhelming majority” of Congressional members.

He said Congressional members “stand firm in refusing to be deceived by lies and falsehoods propagated by people who belong to a terrorist organization with a known record in disseminating hatred and inciting to violence through consistent outright lies and delusional tactics, by exploiting the values we all share, stand by and have inherent moral obligations to patronise, propagate for, and promote.”

Egypt and the US signed in April a memorandum of understanding to facilitate reciprocal provision of military logistic support, supplies, and services.