US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry over bilateral ties and regional issues.
Pompeo and Shoukry discussed “the importance of the strong strategic partnership between the United States and Egypt” and exchanged views on regional issues, including the situation in Libya, on Monday, the US State Department said in a statement.
Both the leaders also talked about human rights and Americans detained in Egypt, according to the statement.
However, Washington claimed that the two countries have close ties, there have been points of contention.
Last month, the US reportedly threatened to punish Egypt for its decision to purchase fighter jets from Russia.
Meanwhile, Cairo did not support some of US policies regarding Iran and Israel.
In 2018, Vice President Mike Pence and Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi pledged a united front against Mideast terrorism as Pence, the highest-level American official visited the US ally in nearly a decade, began a trip through the region amid a government shutdown in Washington.
Pence’s meetings with el-Sissi delved into security cooperation, economic ties and efforts to fight the Islamic State group. The vice president called it a “very productive” meeting and said he pressed el-Sissi to cut diplomatic ties with North Korea, urged him to respect religious diversity and told him the US was committed to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
El-Sissi has built a strategic alliance with President Donald Trump and urged the American president to become more involved in the fight against Islamic militancy in the Middle East.
Trump praised el-Sissi for the April release of Egyptian-American charity worker Aya Hijazi, who had been detained for nearly three years.