US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Cairo next week as part of a Middle East trip for talks on security and stability in the region, the State Department said on Friday. Pompeo will embark on the eight-country tour on Tuesday, starting with Amman, Jordan. The visit is expected to focus on Syria, Iran and Yemen as well as the US's bilateral relations with Arab countries. In Cairo, the second stop, Pompeo will meet with Egyptian officials to discuss economic and energy cooperation as well as major regional issues including Iran, Gaza, and counterterrorism, the department said. While in the Egyptian capital , the secretary will also deliver a speech on the US's “commitment to peace, prosperity, stability, and security in the Middle East.” Pompeo plans stops in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait. From Cairo, the secretary will fly to Manama, Bahrain for talks on the Middle East Strategic Alliance that is aimed at countering Iran's growing influence in the region. Pompeo will then head to Abu Dhabi, where he will urge all parties to the conflict in Yemen to abide by peace agreements reached at UN-brokered talks in Sweden last month. The UAE is member of a Saudi-led coalition fighting Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen. Pompeo will then visit Doha for talks on regional issues and the importance of Gulf unity in countering Iran. Another major stop will be in Riyadh, where he will meet with Saudi officials to discuss Yemen, Iran and Syria. Pompeo will also seek an update on the investigation into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whose death at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October has strained Saudi relations with Washington. Pompeo will conclude his tour with stops in Muscat, Oman and Kuwait City where he also plans to underscore the unity between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
