Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi stressed on Monday the importance of joint military co-operation as part of the extended strategic relations between Egypt and the United States, which represent a fundamental pillar for maintaining peace and security in the Middle East.
The president’s remarks came during his meeting with the Lieutenant-General Michael Kurilla, commander of the US Central Command, in the presence of Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki, Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said.
During the meeting, the president said that this comes especially in light of the circumstances that the Middle East region is passing through, which requires concerted efforts to confront the challenges that threaten security and stability, foremost of which is terrorism, which demands collective efforts to combat it.
In this regard, the president reviewed Egypt’s efforts to eradicate this scourge from its roots on the strategic axes and directions, Spokesman Radi said.
For his part, Lt Gen Kurilla asserted that the US depends on Egypt’s active and pivotal role in the Middle East and North Africa, noting that this role stems from President Sisi’s broad experience and deep understanding of the nature of conditions and challenges, as so is embodied in Egypt’s efforts to promote regional peace and security in such an important region of the world.
The CENTCOM chief said he was keen to make Egypt the first destination in his visits to the region since taking office. He also stressed the full US solidarity with Egypt in its efforts to combat terrorism as it is the most dangerous common challenge facing the region and threatening regional security as a whole.
This imposes the importance of continuing the joint Egyptian-American military co-operation and developing strategic relations between the two countries, he added.
The US military official also offered condolences to the president for the martyrs of the Armed Forces who were martyred as a result of the treacherous terrorist attack that took place recently in the Sinai, Spokesman Radi said.
Also considered during the meeting were the ways to advance military and security co-operation between Egypt and the United States as well as co-operation in the areas of combating terrorism, joint training programmes and border security, the spokesman said.
The latest developments regarding a number of regional crises and files, especially the security of the Red Sea, were also dealt with, Spokesman Radi said, adding that accord was reached on continuing bilateral consultation and coordination between the two sides on issues of common interest to the two friendly countries.
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