President Sisi to Visit White House Under Trump Invitation

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi is expected to visit the White House in Washington at the beginning of April.

“President Donald J. Trump will welcome President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi of Egypt to the White House on April 9, 2019,” stated the White House in an official statement on Friday.

Both presidents will “discuss strengthening the strategic partnership between the United States and Egypt,” which requires talks on “military, economic and counterterrorism cooperation.”

According to the statement, talks will also gravitate towards priorities and development in the region, namely in regards to conflicts in the MENA region as well as “economic integration”.

The relationship between both political leaders has been strong in the last years; this is not President Al-Sisi’s first visit to the White House. Moreover, the upcoming visit coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty which was signed in 1979 under American support.

In 2017, President Trump stated that “we [the United States] are very much behind President Al Sisi”  and that the government was “behind Egypt and the people in Egypt.”

According to the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, the latter is the second largest recipient of foreign assistance from the US while Israel is the first. In 2017, Egypt received USD 1.42 billion US$ in foreign assistance from the U.S while 1.32 billion US$ has been requested for the year 2019.

In January, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo also met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo. Pompeo reiterated the United States’ commitment to fight against mutual security threats such as terrorism and the influence of Iran’s regime.

The Secretary also delivered a controversial speech at the American University on America policy’s in the Middle East, noting that the Trump administration hopes to establish a coalition consisting of GCC states, Egypt and Jordan and lambasting Iran’s political ambitions.

As for the most recent American foreign policy involvement in the region, US President Donald Trump officially recognised Israeli governance over the occupied Golan Heights, seized from Syria in 1967. The political gesture sparked criticism from various Arab states.