Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has stressed that there is enormous potential for developing relations with the US in various fields.
Shoukry’s remarks came in the closing ceremony of the US-Egypt Strategic Dialogue which concluded on Tuesday in Washington, DC. The dialogue was chaired by Shoukry and his American counterpart, Anthony Blinken.
The two-day meetings see discussions on a number of areas of cooperation of mutual interest, including political, economic, judicial, and human rights, educational, and cultural issues, as well as exchanging visions on regional and international issues.
Shoukry said that the Strategic Dialogue reflected the mutual interest of the US administration and Egypt in restoring the momentum of Egyptian-American relations, and working to face common challenges.
He said that the sessions dealt with cooperation in international areas, foremost of which is peace and security, Egypt’s role in combating climate change, and its hosting of the COP27 summit.
Shoukry pointed out that a number of issues were discussed, the most important of which are bilateral relations, development efforts, and the US administration’s contribution to pushing American companies to invest more in Egypt, and supporting Egypt’s economic reform programme.
He stressed the need to continue working towards strengthening all frameworks of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, including the fields of trade, energy, research and development, technology, higher education, cultural exchange, and healthcare, which are areas that provide prospects and opportunities to deepen relations between the two countries, in line with the distinguished political relations between the two countries.
Shoukry expressed the importance of the existing strategic partnership with the United States, and the role that cooperation frameworks have played in order to enhance the capacity of the Egyptian state to face challenges
This includes cooperation in combating terrorism and extremist ideology, and in supporting the state’s tireless efforts to achieve development for the people
He pointed out that the Egyptian side reviewed the strenuous efforts to provide the foundations for a decent life for the citizen, and to work to promote and respect civil, political, economic, and social rights.
He noted the issuance of the National Human Rights Strategy, which came as a product of a comprehensive community dialogue with the participation of the concerned civil society parties, in addition to ending the state of emergency.
He pointed out that the dialogue dealt with the need to work on the stability of the region and the situation and developments in Libya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, noting that there is a consensus in the visions and goals between the two countries.
With regard to the Palestinian cause, Shoukry said: “Security cooperation and coordination with Gaza have enabled us to strengthen stability in the region. The joint military exercises between Egypt and the US in September strengthened military cooperation between the two countries.”
Shoukry noted that relations with America are not limited to security, but there are also scientific, economic, and cultural relations.
For his part, Blinken reiterated the importance of the strategic dialogue between Egypt and the United States to face common challenges, as it covered many issues, such as regional security. He noted that relations between the two countries are currently expanding in many areas.
Blinken said that the Egyptian mediation efforts were essential to achieve stability in Gaza and stop the war with Israel. He also praised Egypt’s important role in mobilizing funds to reconstruct the Strip.
As for Libya, Blinken stressed that Egypt also played an important role in advancing the political process there, and also worked with the US to address economic issues. It was agreed on the importance of boosting cooperation between the two countries regarding the elimination of terrorist groups in Libya.
With regard to the situation in Sudan, Blinken said that the United States is trying to restore stability and democratic order in Sudan once again.
