The Egyptian-American relations begin a new page of unprecedented understanding and cooperation, according to the head of the door-knocking mission, Anis Aclimandos, at the end of the Egyptian door-knocking mission to Washington organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt.
Aclimandos added that Al-Sisi’s visit to Washington put a foundation for a new kind of partnership in the fields of anti-terrorism and economic cooperation, as well as solving hot regional crises.
We must take advantage of the current momentum of the relations between the two countries, so as not to affect any fluctuations that may occur thereafter.
According to Aclimandos, 87 meetings were held, including 54 with members of the US house of representatives and senate from both the Republican and Democratic parties; 9 meetings with executive bodies such as the treasury, trade, energy, state, and defence departments and other meetings with influential public figures at George Washington University and the New York Times; 16 meetings with research centres, including AIPAC, the Jewish Council, the Council of National Security Studies, and the Middle East Institute, and the leadership of the American Chamber in Washington that includes 3 million members, in addition to two meetings with the Egyptian ambassador and the military attaché in Washington.
The American community is interested in the entry of US products to Africa from the gate of Egypt through the establishment of investment projects in Egypt, and exporting their products to the African market is growing, taking advantage of the free trade agreements held by Egypt with African countries, said Aclimandos.
This is after the Egyptian government took a number of measures, such as the flotation of the pound, reforming subsidies, and facilitating the transfer of profits of international companies.
The mission has proposed the renewal of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the two countries. The US side—in all meetings—did not reject the principle, although it is too early to talk about a specific date for the beginning of those negotiations.
Members of the Democratic Party in the US house of representatives and senate confirmed their appreciation of the reforms taking place in Egypt and called for continuing the serious implementation of the reforms, according to the president of the Chamber.
In recognition of the importance of the partnership between the two countries in the economic field, Omar Mohanna, chairperson of the Egypt-U.S. Business Council (EUSBC), asserted that the American side stressed that the economy and business will be among the axes of the strategic dialogue between the two countries.
The US side stressed in more than one meeting its aim to strengthen the strategic partnership, and even described the relationship as an alliance by the administration officials or members of congress, and that’s something that has not been heard for many years, Mohanna noted.
At the political level, Mohanna stressed that the mission has noticed a difference of the American desire to end the conflicts in Libya and an appreciation of the importance of achieving stability in this country for Egypt in terms of security and politics.
The Americans are now confident that Egypt is the cornerstone of regional stability and that fighting terrorism requires working on more than one axis to address the essential causes of terrorism, including economic ones, Mohanna said.
