Western media highlighted the importance of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's landmark visit to Washington, his first since his US counterpart Donald Trump assumed office in January. President Sisi arrived in Washington on Saturday on a five-day visit that included meetings with high-level officials as well as a flagship summit with President Trump. The visit gained unprecedented attention from foreign various media outlets. Turning point The Financial Times described the visit as an important turning point in relations between the United States and Egypt after three-year deadlock under the Obama administration. The newspaper cited a White House official as saying "The US wanted to re-activate the relations with the government of the most populous Arab country that fights terrorism and which the Trump administration sees as an ally in its war against extremism". Robert Satloff, a researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the meeting was "a new beginning between two nations sharing a goal of combating radical extremism." "Looking at the Middle East, Sisi seems to be the model that America is looking for in its battle against radical extremism," Satloff said. "There is no other leader in a pivotal Middle East country that can play this role." Meeting of minds Foreign Policy Magazine highlighted the meeting with President Sisi as a meeting of the minds, stressing Trump's willingness to work more closely with Cairo to fight Islamist terrorists. It also described the Trump administration's billions of dollars in subsidies for Egypt's security forces as sacrosanct. Rebuilding The Washington Post said the Sisi-Trump talks focused on military cooperation between the two countries in order to defeat terrorist organizations in the Middle East and strengthen the ailing Egyptian economy. The newspaper added that Trump seeks to rebuild powerful ties with the Egyptian administration after years of frivolous relations with former President Barack Obama. "This is my first visit to the United States since my inauguration, and it is also the first visit by an Egyptian president to the United States in eight years," Trump said. Obama suspended US military aid to Cairo after the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 amid mass street protests. Very much behind Sisi Speaking to reporters after their meeting, Trump said he strongly backed Sisi's leadership and that they would work together to fight against "terrorism". "I just want to let everybody know that we are very much behind President Sisi; he has done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation," Trump said. "You have a great friend and ally in the United States - and in me," Trump told Sisi, the first Egyptian president to visit the White House in almost a decade. The Egyptian president confirmed he appreciated that Trump was serious to "counter this evil ideology". Great panic Africa News said the visit of President Sisi to the White House caused great panic for the Muslim Brotherhood group that is currently enlisted as a terrorist group in Egypt. It added the group fears a further blow in case a bilateral arrangement between Cairo and Washington to declare it banned in the US was reached. Tough line The Times said the Egyptian president was delighted by the tough line coming from Washington on Islamist terrorism, especially President Trump's determination to smash Islamic State. It added Sisi was pleased that Trump seems equally hostile to the Muslim Brotherhood. Miscellaneous issues Italy's Nova news said that the Egyptian President and the US counterpart discussed a range of bilateral issues and enhanced cooperation in various fields. RIA Novosti highlighted the miscellaneous issues discussed during the visit. It added that the appreciation of the US administration for the Egyptian role was apparent in not including Egypt in the list of Islamic countries whose citizens were banned from travelling to the United States. It stressed on Trump's repeated appreciation for Egypt's counter-terrorism efforts. Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister, Dr. Hussein Hareedy, said the interest of foreign media into Sisi's visit to Washington stems from the fact that the visit came upon an official invitation from President Trump as well as its expected reflections on the US policies in the Middle East. "The visit that came after eight-year chilled relations with Washington bears strategic significance for the Middle East. This aroused bigger interest from foreign media," Dr. Hareedy told AL-Bawaba Egypt by phone. He added that the visit attracted attention of other media outlets that antagonizes Trump and the post-June 30 Revolution Egypt.
