Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi stressed the importance of the extended strategic partnership relations between Egypt and the United States (US), and his aspiration to strengthen coordination and consultation between the two sides on various political and security files and regional issues.
This came during a meeting between Al-Sisi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Cairo on Monday, in the presence of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and US Charge d’affaires in Cairo Daniel Rubinstein.
Bassam Rady, the spokesperson of the presidency, said that the president conveyed his greetings to his American counterpart Joe Biden.
For his part, Blinken stressed that Washington is counting on its intensive coordination with Egypt to restore stability, achieve calm, and contain the situation between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.
The recent developments and events in the Palestinian territories, the joint efforts and the ongoing Egyptian efforts to contain the escalating tension over the past days were reviewed.
President Al-Sisi stressed that the recent developments of events confirm the importance of immediate action within the framework of the political and security tracks to calm the situation and limit the adoption of any unilateral measures by the parties.
He stressed that Egypt’s firm position is to reach a just and comprehensive solution that guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people in accordance with international references, in a way that solves that pivotal issue in the region and opens prospects for peace, stability, cooperation and construction.
During the meeting, they exchanged views on a number of international and regional issues of common interest, as well as some topics of bilateral relations between the two sides.
In this context, the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was touched upon, where the president stressed Egypt’s firm position in this regard through the need to reach a binding legal agreement to fill and operate the dam, in order to achieve common interests and preserve the water and development rights of all parties.
Al-Sisi stressed the importance of the American role to play an influential role to solve this crisis.
Later on Monday, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry praised the friendly relations between Egypt and the US, expressing Egypt’s keenness to strengthen the relationship based on mutual respect and common interests.
During a joint press conference with his American counterpart in Cairo, Shoukry said: “The talks that were held reflected clearly the broad convergence of strategic interests between the two countries, the great consistency in visions on many issues, and also showed the enormous potential for developing a strategic partnership in many fields.
Shoukry added that Egypt relies a lot on joint cooperation between the two countries in the framework of achieving stability in the Middle East region, to advance development efforts and work to achieve stability in accordance with the principles of international legitimacy and in accordance with common interests.
Minister Shoukry said that Egypt is working with the US to establish security and stability in the Middle East region, pointing out that the situation in the Middle East, specifically the Palestinian issue, was strongly present during his talks with his American counterpart Blinken.
“We stressed the importance of preventing any kind of escalation, finding a political framework and resolving the issue on the principle of the two-state solution,” he added.
Shoukry explained that the talks touched on the file of the GERD and the joint work to preserve all parties and reach an agreement on a legal basis.
He also pointed out that the talks also touched on the situation in Libya and Sudan and the importance of joint work to face all challenges and overcome them, adding, ” We are working together to work the Joint Committee on the occasion of the centenary of relations, which is of great importance.”
Blinken said that Egypt and the US are fully committed to developing and deepening bilateral relations.
He added that one of the priorities in this relationship is the long-term economic deal to benefit the Egyptian and American peoples, as well as investment in the economic infrastructure, where we supported a contract worth 600 million dollars to build an underwater communications cable to connect fast certified communications.
“The United States is helping Egypt invest in wind and solar energy,” he said, noting that the goal of all efforts is to achieve tangible results, create jobs, a better life and a better future for all.
He reviewed the previous meetings over the past years, referring to the summit of African-American leaders in Washington, the climate conference in Egypt and others, noting that these dialogues reflect the commitment and appreciation of our two countries to this partnership and its importance for the region and the world.
“We share in relation to the climate crisis, which is a unique opportunity to create jobs for people, as we convey our appreciation for the Egyptian leadership through the 27th climate summit, as well as its efforts in the field of climate change, including reducing emissions by 2050, and we support these efforts through a special partnership between the two parties,” he added.
He pointed out that the climate crisis confirms the importance of a quick diplomatic solution to the issue of the GERD, saying: “We have heard from the Egyptian leadership that it is an existential matter for Egypt, and we support any solution that takes into account the interests of all parties and takes into account the Egyptian life, and for Sudan and Ethiopia.”
“This should be done through a spirit of flexibility on the part of all parties to deal with the existential interests that Egypt has in this regard,” Blinken concluded.
