In his first meeting with his US counterpart, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri said the US regards Egypt as a genuine partner in the Middle East. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement issued after the meeting in Washington between Shoukri and America's new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that the US was keen to support Egypt in facing challenges on the security, economic and political levels. He said the US appreciated Egypt's efforts in combating terrorism and intends to give Egypt more support in that field. After a phone call congratulating Tillerson on his new position, Shoukri said he was looking forward to working with him in the next phase to promote Egyptian-American relations in a way that reflects its own specificity and strategy, as well as the interests of the Egyptian and American people, as Abu Zeid stated last month. Recent official statements from both sides show a willingness to develop a stronger relationship on the strategic as well as political level. “Cairo obviously bet on the fact that more profound cooperation can be created with the new administration. Cairo wants to focus on its central role in combating terrorism in the region, an issue that Trump has repeatedly regarded a priority,” said a diplomat who talked on condition of anonymity. He concluded that both countries can develop stronger cooperation towards establishing a common goal: combating terrorism. They can also work towards being partners in regional security. Al-Sayed Amin Shalabi, executive director of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, said he believed that US President Donald Trump will continue the good relations under his predecessor Barack Obama. However, Trump will try to further push the relationship towards his own interests. “He will demand that Egypt take a bigger and wider role in fighting terrorism that will go beyond its war in Sinai,” he told Al-Ahram Weekly. “He will also expect from Egypt to be part of an Arab and regional alliance against Iran. However, I am afraid that will not be possible for Egypt,” he added. Shoukri's two-day visit to the US, his first since Trump took office in January, provides a chance to boost Egypt-US relations, shed light on economic and social reform programmes recently adopted by the Egyptian government, discuss the vision of the new US administration for the Arab region as well as review Egypt's views on the crises in Libya, Syria, Yemen and Iraq and potential solutions. The primary aim of the visit which started Sunday 26 February was to prepare for Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi's visit to the US, the first by an Egyptian president since 2004, scheduled to take place later in March. During the visit, Shoukri also met National Security Advisor Herber Raymond McMaster in addition to members of Congress. Shoukri re-epmhasised Egypt's vision in resolving the crises in Libya and Syria according to the Skhirat agreement in Libya and a political solution that respects the will of the Syrian people and the unity of their state. Resuming the peace process was another important issue that topped Shoukri's meeting with Tillerson. It is one of the issues that may cause differences between Cairo and Washington, according to Shalabi. “Trump will expect Cairo to take genuine and quick steps towards a resolution. However, unless the US supports the two-state solution and other pressing issues like settlement-building and Jerusalem, it will be very difficult for Egypt to take any steps on that issue,” he said. Shoukri's last visit to the US was in December last year when he held talks with then secretary of state John Kerry. He also met Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan, Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Representative Eliot Engel, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee as well as leaders of the US Congress in both chambers. Shoukri concluded the visit by meeting the new UN Secretary-General António Guterres in New York during which they discussed a number of regional and international issues, in addition to Egypt presenting its expectations of the new UN chief. Egyptian-US relations have seen relative improvement in the last year. Several commentators said bilateral relations have thrived since Trump took office in January. Al-Sisi was the first foreign leader to congratulate Trump in November last year when the results of the elections came in, and Trump called Al-Sisi three days after the businessman's inauguration. Their first meeting was during Al-Sisi's participation in the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2016, during which their visions of political Islam and how to combat terrorism in the Middle East seemed to converge. Relations had been tense after the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The US administration described the move as a military coup. As a result, the US cut aid to Egypt, but restored it in 2015 in order to help Egypt in its fight against terrorism. Relations have since improved. In July 2015, the US handed Egypt eight advanced fighter jets and five tank turrets to be used for American-Egyptian tank production in a plant in Egypt. In August the same year, the two countries took another step towards patching up their relations when they launched their first strategic dialogue since 2009 on a wide range of topics, including human rights and Cairo's battle against terrorism in Sinai. Shoukri and Kerry held repeated meetings last year that aimed at boosting bilateral relations, including coordinating stands regarding pressing issues in the region especially Libya and Syria. In a related development that could contribute to boosting Egyptian-US relations, Shoukri met early last month with a delegation from the US congress, headed by Senator Dana Rohrabacher in Cairo. The meeting discussed bilateral relations and ways to enhance cooperation between both countries. It was the second recent visit of a US congressional delegation to Egypt. The first was in June last year and was headed by Rohrabacher as well. Several US congress members visited Egypt in 2016 and met President Al-Sisi and other senior officials. However, there are still thorny issues between the two states. “The US is still concerned about Egypt's human rights record and the recently-passed NGO law that put further restrictions on the work of human rights groups and NGOs. Even if the new administration decided not to put much emphasis on human rights, other influential leaders in Washington will never accept this,” said the diplomat. In another related development this week, Shoukri met his British counterpart Boris Johnson in Cairo before leaving to Washington. The visit aimed to boost bilateral relations and discuss urgent regional issues. The two discussed cultural, economic and political bilateral relations, in addition to the possible return of British flights to Sharm El-Sheikh, according to Abu Zeid. “The British officials listened to the Egyptian vision on regional issues, namely the situation in Libya, Syria, Yemen and Iraq as well as efforts to combat terrorism and prospects of resuming the Palestinian-Israeli peace process,” Shoukri said.
