Egypt is keen on promoting cooperation with Pakistan and benefitting from that country's military experience in fighting terrorism, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi told Pakistan's army chief of staff General Raheel Sharif during his official two day visit to Cairo. On Tuesday, El-Sisi received General Sharif with the attendance of Egypt's defence minister Sedki Sobhi and the Pakistani ambassador to Cairo. El-Sisi praised the “special relationship” between the two countries, expressing his hope for more mutual cooperation that would meet the aspirations and expectations of the two nations. From his side, the Pakistani general expressed his country's pride in its cooperation with Egypt in various fields, especially on a security and military level. He expressed Pakistan's hope to bolster military relations with Egypt to strengthen security cooperation and exchange experience in combating terrorism. According to the Pakistani army's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) directorate, Sharif held separate meetings with his Egyptian counterpart Sobhi and chief of staff Mahmoud Hegazy, where both sides vowed to “synergise all efforts and resources to fight and eliminate terrorism.” According to Pakistani news outlets, the Egyptian officials expressed interest in benefiting from the Pakistan army's experience in countering improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Both Egypt and Pakistan have been fighting Islamist militants within their borders in recent years. In the fight against militants in North Sinai, hundreds of Egyptian security personnel have been killed by IEDs. Egypt has adopted a policy of expanding its sources of armaments to aid in its fight against terrorism in the governorate. Last May, Egypt received the first batch of mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles from the United States, with a total 762 MRAPs delivered at no cost to help in the country's fight against terrorism.
