Yesterday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi visited the Pentagon, where Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III greeted him and said that Egypt is not just a leader in the Middle East and Africa, but also on the international stage.
The secretary further said that this year marks the centennial anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the United States of America and Egypt. During their conversation, El-Sisi and Austin spoke about a variety of different topics and concerns.
At the outset of the discussion, Austin said, “The administration strongly appreciates Egypt’s leadership and collaboration in achieving our common security goals.” Thanks to your leadership and Egypt’s fortitude, we were able to witness the opening of diplomatic ties between Israel and an Arab country for the first time, the safe and efficient operation of the Suez Canal, and the successful negotiation of a truce between Israel and Gaza.
Austin expressed his gratitude to the president for allowing Egypt to take leadership of Combined Task Force 153, which is responsible for ensuring the safety of the naval lines of communication in the Red Sea.
Austin said that the United States would not waver in its commitment to ensure that Egypt have the skills necessary to protect both its people and its land. The statement was made by Austin who said that the United States would “continue to cooperate with Egypt and your neighbours to increase interoperability, integrated air and missile defence, and maritime security.”
The Secretary of State went on to cover other topics, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how it may affect the rules-based international system that has been so beneficial to the globe.
El-Sisi thanked the secretary for his warm welcome and said that the two nations had a lot of similarities as well as many interests in common. He said that he and Austin engaged in a number of fruitful exchanges at the time that Austin was serving as chief of the United States Central Command.