A delegation of Egyptian officials met with United States government personnel in Washington, DC on Tuesday. The delegation was headed by Essam Al-Haddad, assistant to President Mohamed Morsy for foreign relations and internal cooperation, and included two other prominent members of the Egyptian president's team. Al-Haddad, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and its political wing the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), met with US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon in what the US embassy in Cairo called, a meeting that “reaffirmed the strategic relationship between the United States and Egypt.” “They discussed a broad range of issues, including our bilateral economic cooperation, joint efforts to promote regional security and build on the cease-fire in Gaza,” said the statement. The embassy also claimed that “Egypt's democratic transition” was discussed between the Egyptian and US officials. The Egyptian embassy in the US added that the Egyptian delegation also “arranged for President Morsy's visit at the invitation of the US president at the beginning of next year.” Morsy was originally scheduled to travel to the US in December, but his trip was delayed to February 2013. Hussein Al-Qazzaz, adviser for integrated development affairs, and Khaled Al-Qazzaz, presidential coordinator for foreign affairs, also accompanied Al-Haddad on the overseas visit. The two delegates are also members of the FJP. The group also discussed the crisis in Syria and the current situation in northern Africa, according to the Egyptian embassy's statement. The delegation also met with White House officials, members of the state department, members of US Congress and officials from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. According to the Egyptian embassy they met with researchers at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, the Brookings Institution, the United States Institute of Peace, the Middle East Institute and the Atlantic Council.
