US President Donald Trump on Monday set aside human rights scandals to welcome Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to the White House, the first such visit from an Egyptian president in almost a decade.
Greeting al-Sisi warmly in the Oval Office, Trump heaped praise on the former general’s leadership as he sought to mend ties strained by crackdowns, revolution and counterrevolution.
“You have a great friend and ally in the United States and in me,” Trump told al-Sisi, sweeping aside the concerns of his predecessor, former US president Barack Obama, about al-Sisi’s purge of political opponents and rights activists.
The meeting symbolizes the Egyptian leader coming in from the cold after years of being kept at arm’s length by Washington.
Trump is betting that Egypt can be a partner in achieving two key goals: restarting the Middle East peace process and tackling extremist groups.
The last time an Egyptian leader was at the White House was in 2010, when then-Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak attended Middle East peace talks alongside Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders.
Within months, Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising as the Arab Spring swept across the region.
Obama had angered allies in Egypt’s powerful military by putting his finger on the scales, warning them against quashing protests by force.
In the years that followed, the Egypt-US relationship was strained further as a broadly Islamist and then a military government — led by al-Sisi — took charge.
Hundreds of demonstrators were killed and thousands jailed during the accompanying crackdown, prompting Obama to freeze military aid to Egypt — worth about US$1 billion per year.
Egypt’s pivotal regional role meant that aid was fully reinstated in 2015, but diplomatic relations remained difficult.
The catalyst for Trump and al-Sisi’s friendship has been a common stance against extremist groups, which al-Sisi described as “a satanic ideology” during brief remarks at the White House.
Ahead of the meeting, a senior administration official said the topic would be handled in a “private, more discreet way.”
“We believe it’s the most effective way to advance those issues to a favorable outcome,” the official said.
That stance was slammed by rights groups, who have said that tens of thousands of al-Sisi’s opponents have been arrested or are facing criminal charges.
“Inviting al-Sisi for an official visit to Washington as tens of thousands of Egyptians rot in jail and when torture is again the order of the day is a strange way to build a stable strategic relationship,” Human Rights Watch Washington director Sarah Margon said.
Egypt’s own human rights watchdog said in a report last year that it raised 266 cases of enforced disappearances with the Egyptian Ministry of Interior.
However, Trump’s White House, which hailed the visit as a success, in a statement late on Monday applauded al-Sisi’s “courageous efforts to promote moderate understandings of Islam, and the leaders agreed on the necessity of recognizing the peaceful nature of Islam and Muslims around the world.”
The thorny issue of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was also on the agenda, the White House statement said.
Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab states to have signed peace treaties with Israel and would likely be considered key players in any renewed peace effort.
Jordanian King Abdullah is to visit the White House today, as Trump — a self-declared expert deal maker — looks to make the deal of all deals.
A senior administration official described “very positive discussions” between the US and Egyptian leaders, both on Middle East peace and fighting extremists.
However, experts have warned that al-Sisi might be unable to deliver what Trump wants on either dossier.
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