Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and King Abdullah II of Jordan stressed the importance of fostering international efforts to fight terrorism in the region during a meeting in Cairo on Wednesday. Abdullah arrived in Cairo for a short visit earlier today to discuss bilateral relations as well as regional issues, including the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. During the meeting at the presidential palace in Cairo, the two leaders praised the level of cooperation between the two countries in the face of regional challenges. President El-Sisi discussed ongoing development projects in Egypt, including the construction of the new administrative capital, as the two leaders discussed means of cooperation in infrastructure projects. On regional issues, El-Sisi and Abdullah stressed the importance of direct peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israel based on the two-state solution, given the current momentum to reach peace created by the expressed desire of the administration of US President Donald Trump to do so. On the Syrian crisis, the two Arab leaders praised the latest agreement reached in Kazakhstan's capital Astana between Russia, Turkey, and Iran to set up four safe zones in Syria in an attempt to reduce violence in the war-torn country. They also vowed to intensify support for international efforts to end the suffering of the Syrian people by reaching "a political solution to the crisis that preserves the unity of Syrian territories."
