Egypt says Trump to visit Cairo at earliest opportunity

Egypt said on Monday that US President Donald Trump had told President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a phone call that he wanted to visit Cairo at the earliest opportunity to discuss ways to “counter terrorism in the Middle East.”

A statement from the Egyptian presidency said Trump had called Sisi to stress the importance of strategic relations between their two countries.

There was no indication of when Trump might visit Egypt. Sisi went to Washington last month for talks with Trump intended to reset relations that had become strained under President Barack Obama.

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Egypt has long been one of Washington’s closest allies in the Middle East, receiving $1.3 billion in US military aid annually. It is fighting an Islamist insurgency in Sinai in which hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police have been killed.

Trump is making his first international trip as president this month and Sisi is expected to be among regional leaders who will meet him in Saudi Arabia during the weekend. Trump is also expected to visit Israel.