Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met in Cairo on Thursday head of the United States Central Command Joseph Votel, who praised Egypt's ongoing efforts to combat terrorism and the country's role in maintaining regional stability. The meeting was attended by Egypt's Minister of Defence Sedky Sobhy, Army Chief-of-Staff Mohamed Farid, and Chargé d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Cairo Thomas Goldberger. The meeting saw a discussion on bolstering military cooperation and addressed the latest regional military and political developments in crisis-stricken countries. "The president stressed the importance of the decades-long strategic relations between Egypt and the United States, especially in military cooperation, in light of the current circumstances in the region, which require concerted efforts to confront," said a statement by the presidency. Votel stressed his country's keenness to develop military partnership with Egypt to confront terrorism as a common challenge facing both countries, praising Egypt's efforts in combating the phenomenon. Votel also discussed with Chief-of-Staff Farid military cooperation and joint exercises between the armed forces of both countries, especially operation Bright Star, which is a major military exercise held regularly between Egypt and the US since 1980. The latest exercise was held in Egypt in September 2017.
