FM underlines difference in US approach

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry revealed that the government will prepare for the coming visit scheduled to be held by President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to Washington during the coming period, stressing the private nature of relations between the two countries.

The Egyptian minister added, in an interview with “Arabs Today”, that his recent visit to Washington was fully different from the previous visits. He added that the tensions dominated the previous visits due to differences over a number of issues, including human rights. He added that the current U.S Administration appreciates Egypt’s role in the Middle East.

He added that the recent visit focused on the ways to develop the bilateral relations and to support the joint work on the regional level, stressing that the American side is convinced of the necessity to develop the relations between the two countries.

He stressed that he follows the efforts exerted by the members of U.S Congress to list Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group, stressing that there are differences over the issue. He stressed that the U.S abandoned its requests to reintegrate the group in the political process.

Shoukry praised the Egyptian efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis, saying that the meetings conducted in Cairo recently aimed to build the confidence between the country’s conflicting parties. He added, “Although, they have not sit together, we reached to the accordance over the future roadmap.”

He described the coming Arab Summit scheduled to be held in Jordan as an opportunity to bridge the gap of difference among the Arab leaders. He added that the meeting will allow the Arab leaders to discuss the controversial issues and to unify the efforts to overcome the current challenges facing the region as whole.

He added that the relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia are still exist, saying that the contacts between the two countries are continuous on the level of ambassadors, while they are suspended on the ministerial level.