U.S Ambassador to Cairo Robert Beecroft revealed that his country prepared currently to resume Shining Star military exercise with Egypt’s military forces after over a year of suspension. He stressed that the military exercises are scheduled to be resumed by the end of this year.
He added, in an interview with “Arabs Today”, that the relations between Egypt and the United States witnessed notable improvement during the recent period, saying that the two countries exert their efforts to push forward the bilateral relations during the coming period in the light of the common challenges facing the two countries.
He stressed, “United States is working with Egypt to promote economic reform by directing direct investments to Cairo and supporting development projects, as well as regional coordination with Egypt to resolve crises in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen.”
Regarding the Palestinian issue, the American diplomat said that President Trump explained that he would work to resume the peace process and to support negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians and work with other Arab countries. He added, “President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also stressed the need to promote a solution to the Palestinian problem and to find the appropriate means to achieve the peace process.”
He added that US President Donald Trump is pondering whether moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would help or hurt the prospect of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, revealing the criteria Trump is following to reach a decision that will no doubt reverberate throughout the volatile Middle East.
He stressed that the president is being very careful to understand how such a decision would impact the peace process. He praised the meeting between Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and his American counterpart Donald Trump in Riyadh, describing it as a successful meeting.
He stressed that such meetings perform a major role to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries, stressing that the United States is keen to work with Egypt to overcome the current challenges facing the country during the current critical period.
Regarding Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Beecroft said that the visit is working to strengthen relations with the Arab countries to confront terrorism and create strong economic relations at multiple levels, and look forward to better relations with Egypt and the Arab countries in general.