by WorldTribune Staff, March 29, 2017
Egyptian President Abdul Fatah Sisi will make his first state visit to the White House next week.
“President Donald J. Trump looks forward to welcoming President Sisi of Egypt for an official visit to Washington on April 3,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said in a statement on March 28 that provided the first confirmation of the planned visit.
According to the statement, Trump and Sisi “will use the visit to build on the positive momentum they have built for the United States-Egypt relationship.”
“They will discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues, including how to defeat ISIS and pursue peace and stability in the region,” it added.
Sisi, who was elected president in 2014, had strained relations with the Obama administration. In 2013, shortly after Sisi and the Egyptian army ousted then-Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, former President Barack Obama suspended American military aid to Egypt. He released the aid two years later.
After Trump’s election, Sisi praised the new president and said he expected greater engagement in the Middle East from his administration.