Minister of Defence Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi hosted Commander of the US Central Command General Lloyd Austin at the Ministry of Defence on Wednesday. Austin and Al-Sisi discussed regional and international issues that "impact on the security and stability of the region". The pair also discussed "a number of issues of common concern in light of the depth of the US-Egyptian strategic relations in many fields," said a statement from the Armed Forces. The delegation accompanying Austin, the US charge d'affairs and Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces Sedky Sobhy also attended the meeting on Wednesday. The US Central Command is a branch of the US military whose area of responsibility covers the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. In October Washington decided to suspend the delivery of a large portion of military assistance to Egypt pending progress towards a democratically elected civilian government. The delivery of equipment such as F-16 fighter jets, M1A1 tank kits, harpoon missiles and Apache helicopters was part of the suspension
