Egypt's Sisi starts historic visit to Washington

Egypt Today Managing Editor Mohamed Mahmoud is reporting from Washington as part of an Egyptian press delegation accompanying President Sisi.

WASHINGTON – 2 April 2017: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi started on Saturday a historic visit to Washington that aims to reset U.S.-Egyptian relations.

Sisi’s visit marked the first for an Egyptian president since 2009, which was followed by increased tension between the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations and the ousted President Hosni Mubarak regime.

The two leaders are scheduled to meet on Monday, April 3 at the White House. Sisi is also expected to meet Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, a number of congressmen and senators, CEOs of American corporations, President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of General Electric. Additionally, Sisi will meet several groups from the intellectual community in Washington and Egyptian representatives resident in the U.S.

At a briefing in Washington on Saturday night, presidential spokesperson Alaa Youssef announced that the two leaders will discuss enhancing bilateral ties and various issues including peace and stability in the Middle East and counter-terrorism.

“In addition to meeting Mr. Trump, President Sisi will meet diverse groups that represent the U.S. government and society to exchange points of views of different issues of mutual interest,” Youssef announced.

Earlier on Friday a senior White House official told a group of journalists that the Trump administration considers Egypt an important player in the Middle East.

“President Donald Trump is excited to welcome Egyptian President Sisi to the White House on April 3. And he wants to use President Sisi’s visit to reboot the bilateral relationship and build on the strong connection the two presidents established when they first met in New York last September,” the official said.

“Egypt is one of the traditional pillars of stability in the Middle East and has been a reliable U.S. partner for decades. President Trump’s initial interactions with President Sisi, including their phone call on January 23, have already improved the tone of the relationship, and we hope next week’s visit continues this positive momentum,” the official added.

The White House official pointed out that during his meeting with Sisi Trump aims to reaffirm the deep and abiding U.S. commitment to Egypt’s security, stability and prosperity.

“President Sisi has taken a number of bold steps on very sensitive issues since becoming president in 2014. He’s called for reform and moderation of Islamic discourse, initiated courageous and historic economic reforms, and sought to reestablish Egypt’s regional leadership role,” the official said.

After his inauguration, Trump invited the Egyptian president to visit the White House to discuss ways to boost the fight against terrorism and bilateral ties.

Earlier in November 2016, Sisi was the first leader to call Trump to congratulate him on winning the U.S. presidential elections.

In September 2016, then-presidential candidate Trump flew to New York to meet the Egyptian president on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

“Mr. Trump expressed to President Sisi his strong support for Egypt’s war on terrorism, and how under a Trump Administration, the United States of America will be a loyal friend, not simply an ally, that Egypt can count on in the days and years ahead,” Trump’s statement said at the time.

An Egyptian official speaking to Egypt Today on condition of anonymity said that the talks between Sisi and Trump will focus on Egypt’s role in counter-terrorism in the region.

“Egypt could help the global counter-terrorism efforts by using its soft power tools to advocate for religious tolerance, education reform and women’s empowerment. These kinds of efforts are meant to protect the future generations from extremism. I think the new administration is looking forward to seeing Egypt playing such role,” the official said.

He added that the U.S. and Egypt share the same concerns over Iran’s interference in some countries in the region through foreign proxies, and the instability caused by the internal disputes in Yemen, Syria and Iraq.

“For the past three years Egypt has been actively working with different regional partners toward stability, so we are looking forward to see Washington encouraging this constructive role,” the official said.

Supporting Egypt in its campaign against militants in Sinai and increasing the military cooperation will take a priority on Sisi and Trump’s meeting agenda.

“Sisi has also led Egypt’s campaign to defeat a long-running terrorist threat in the Sinai. The United States wants to support President Sisi’s efforts in all of these areas,” the White House official said in a press briefing on Friday

National Security expert Walid Faras, who is close to the Trump Administration, told Egypt Today that the U.S. believes Egypt could play a vital role in restoring stability in the Middle East.

“The current administration truly believes that Egypt’s role should move to another level where Cairo could lead the regional efforts in countering terrorism as it has the necessary experience and capacity,” Faras said.

Last week Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held several meetings with U.S. officials including U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Deputy U.S. National Security Advisor K.T. McFarland, U.S. Special Assistant to the President and White House Coordinator for the Middle East Derek Harvey, as well as Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary at the Bureau for Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department Stuart Jones, and the U.S. Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement that the meeting tackled in detail the path of Egyptian-American relations and means to boost them, especially in light of Sisi visit to the U.S.

During the meeting, Shoukry highlighted Egypt’s efforts in fighting terrorism, referring to the president’s initiative to renew the religious discourse and means to counter extremist ideology.

“Egypt is the most capable country to confront extremist ideology amidst a region engulfed in conflicts and disputes,” Abu Zeid said.

Better bilateral economic ties, including attracting more American investments to Egypt, are also on the Sisi agenda during his visit to Washington.

“We are expecting a new phase in our relations with Washington in which Egypt could achieve greater economic cooperation and more U.S. investment under the new U.S. president,” said Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr during a meeting at the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo last week.

The President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt Anis Aclimandos said Sisi is accompanied by representatives from the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt and the U.S.-Egypt Business Council. The group of businessmen plans to meet American investors to discuss investment opportunities in Egypt.

Aclimandos added that trade between the two countries reached $5.5 billion in 2016 and involves 1,000 American companies investing in Egypt.