Egypt's army chief-of-staff, Lt. General Mahmoud Hegazy, met with Lt. General Michael Garrett, the commander of US Army Central in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss military cooperation between the two countries, the Egyptian armed forces announced. Hegazy and Garrett discussed ways of boosting "mutual military cooperation as well as the exchange of expertise and training in many fields," the statement by Egyptian military spokesman Tamer El-Refai said. General Hegazy emphasized that he is looking forward to "continuing coordination and efforts to improve the outstanding military cooperation ties in a way that serves the mutual interests [of both countries] and ensure security and stability in the region." The meeting between Garrett and Hegazy was attended by a number of military commanders from both countries. Cairo is one of Washington's closest Middle East allies. The US has been providing Egypt with military aid since the Arab country's 1979 peace deal with Israel. Ties grew strained under former US president Barack Obama who briefly suspended aid after the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. During a visit to Washington earlier this month, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said the continuation of US aid is crucial for Egypt in its fight against terrorism and efforts to maintain stability and peace in the region.
