Sisi meets influential US figures in New York

NEW YORK - 18 September 2017: Sisi received at his residence in New York on Monday a group of influential figures in the American society, including a number of ministers, former military officials and leaders of research centers, Jewish organizations and think tanks in the US.

In a press statement, Presidential Spokesman Alaa Youssef said that Sisi welcomed the elite group who contribute to forming the US vision and the decision-making process towards the various international issues, especially the US interests in the Middle East region.

During the meeting, Sisi briefed them on the developments in the domestic arena, pointing out that Egypt has been fighting terrorism and extremism over the past years.

He called on the international community to confront all terrorist groups without discrimination, deal with the various dimensions of terrorism, like funding, armament, and political and ideological support, reduce the ability of terrorist organizations to recruit fighters and maintain national state institutions in the region.

Regarding the economic development, Sisi assured that the Egyptian people were highly aware of the difficulty of decisions to solve the endemic economic problems, pointing out that the economic reform program has begun to bear fruit as the foreign currency reserves hit rates prior to 2011.

The President also briefed on the procedures which were taken to create an attractive environment for investment, the national infrastructure projects and the new cities being established across Egypt.


President Sisi shakes hands with a top official during his meeting with the American Commerce Chamber's senior members- Egypt Today

Regarding the democratic process and human rights conditions in Egypt, Sisi pointed out that Egypt now has a constitutional framework organizing relations among the state authorities. He stressed that western countries have to understand these facts without judging on matters with a western perspective.

Egypt is keen on promoting human rights as its notion should not be shorthanded in the political rights only, but dealing with the issue in a comprehensive way including the social and economic rights, Sisi noted.


President Sisi, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr attend a meeting with Senior members of the American Commerce Chamber in New York - Egypt Today

At the regional level, Sisi tackled Egypt’s vision towards the importance of maintaining and supporting national institutions in order to combat terrorism and maintain security. He pointed out the importance of preserving the unity of the Libyan and Syrian lands.

He highlighted preventing the fragmentation of Middle East states as this could lead to more conflicts and crises.

Sisi also addressed Egyptian efforts to revive the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis, assuring Egypt’s support to all international efforts and initiatives to reach a comprehensive and fair settlement.

In response to the attendees' inquires about the latest developments in the Palestinian arena, Sisi said that Egypt has exerted great efforts to approach the points of view of the Palestinian parties in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to achieve the Palestinian reconciliation.


Peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis cannot be imposed from outside as it should stem from the will and conviction of both sides, Sisi added.

Replying to a question about the Qatari crisis, Sisi discussed Egypt’s vision in this regard, stressing that it is time to confront parties supporting terrorism.

He added that Qatar should show its intention not to harm the interests of the Arab countries and not to interfere in their internal affairs by responding to the demands of the four Arab countries.

Presidential Spokesman Alaa Youssef mentioned that a number of the attendees lauded the Egyptian steps to maintain the Jewish heritage according to the President's directives.

In response to questions about the conditions of the non-governmental organizations in Egypt, Sisi said that the Egyptian government considers NGOs as important partners in the development path, as the Parliament issued a law to legalize their conditions in Egypt in light of great warnings of their work in Egypt.

He pointed out that the application of provisions of the NGOs law has not started yet, as Egypt tries to guarantee not to put obstacles before their work in Egypt.