By – POMED
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Chairman Paul Cook (R-CA) traveled to Egypt and met with Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry on Monday. The officials discussed “ongoing matters in the U.S.-Egyptian partnership, as well as the security challenges Egypt faces”, according to a press release from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. They also met with U.S. Chargé d’AffairesThomas Goldberger and other U.S. Embassy officials during the visit.
Chairman Royce, speaking on behalf of the delegation, said, “Egypt faces serious challenges from ISIS. These terrorists have killed hundreds of innocent Egyptians, including dozens in last year’s Palm Sunday attacks. Strengthening the U.S.-Egypt partnership is critical to defeating this shared threat and advancing other mutual interests. To that end, I urged Foreign Minister Shoukry and General Kamel to reduce ties with the North Korean regime, and promote reforms to support economic growth and civil society. Working together, we can achieve a secure and prosperous future.”
Masrawy reported [Ar] on the press statement from Ahmed Abu Zaid, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which stated that during the meeting Rep. Cook “expressed his satisfaction with the development and stability in Egypt under the leadership of President al-Sisi.” This meeting comes just after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s visit to Egypt earlier this month in which he also met with Shoukry as well as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Tillerson emphasized “the protection and promotion of human rights and the vital role of civil society in Egypt.”
The difference between the views, attitudes and approach of two delegations, one Democratic, led by Rep. Rohrbacher, and the other Republican from the US House of Representatives is both amazing and disturbing. Haven’t the Americans, under the misguided presidency of Barak Obama, done enough harm by sponsoring the ‘Arab Spring’ in Egypt and the region as a whole? We accept the fact that the US is a major but not the only power which has a reciprocal interest in Egypt but we expect, indeed demand that it practices what it preaches on human rights. Saba E. Demian, M.D.