Sisi keen to bolster strategic ties and mutual cooperation with Washington

[Mary Naeem]

Sisi keen to bolster strategic ties and mutual cooperation with Washington

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said Cairo is keen to bolster strategic ties and mutual cooperation with Washington during a meeting with Republican senators in Sharm El-Sheikh. El-Sisi on Sunday received a delegation of Republicans from the United States Senate on the sidelines of a gathering in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh marking 150 years since Egypt's first parliament was elected.

El-Sisi discussed with the delegation recent local developments as well as Cairo's economic development and counterterrorism efforts, a statement by the president's office said. The Egyptian president called on the west to evaluate Egypt's stance on human rights and freedoms while taking into consideration challenges internal and regional challenges the country is facing

"Democracy is an extended and on going process that Egypt is determined to move forward towards," El-Sisi was quoted by presidency spokesman Alaa Youssef as saying. Senator James Risch, who heads the delegation, said during the talks that Egypt's stability is key to the United States amidst turbulence in the region. The two sides looked at the latest developments in crisis-torn countries in the region as El-Sisi urged the need to reach political solutions and warned against "the fall of national states in the region and the implications of the spread of terrorist groups and their expansion in the Middle East."Ahram Online News