The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and his US counterpart John Kerry discussed enforcing bilateral relations in a meeting in New York City, according to a statement released by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Saturday.
The ministers discussed regional development in Syria and Libya and the preparation of an international peace conference focused on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
According to a previous statement made by the US state department spokesperson John Kirby, Kerry and Shoukry discussed counter-terrorism efforts.
The meeting took place during Shoukry’s visit to the UN during which he will give a speech in a Security Council ministerial meeting headed by Egypt.
Shoukry put an emphasis on the strategic importance of Egyptian-US relations in a meeting with US congress member Kay Granger.
The spread of terrorism in Libya has been a major concern for the US as Islamic State (IS) militia have made territorial advances in oil rich country during the political conflict between the Tabruk and Tripoli governments.
Egypt recently presented a counter-terrorism initiative to the Security Council that focuses on fighting extremist ideologies.
A US congressional delegation that recently visited Egypt recommended supporting Egypt in its counter-terrorism efforts.
There have been several meetings between high-ranking US and Egyptian officials in the past months.
Egyptian-US relations were strained following the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood’s government in 2013.
Egyptian security and defence advisor Sayed Ghoneim believes that the change in the American situation is based on its interest.
“The US is between a rock and a hard place. It either must stop playing the role of the world officer, with all its burdens, or it must leave conflict areas without solutions which could cause terrorism to spread further. The latter is against its interests.”
Ghoniem called the potential developments of the various terrorisms scenarios that have been presented to NATO terrifying, as some suggest western government will have to negotiate with the Islamic State lead within five years if greater international efforts are not implemented to curtail the organisation’s growth.
“Fighting terrorism in North Africa starts from Egypt in the east and Tunisia and Algeria in the west to block terrorism in Libya and Sinai”, he added.
