(VOVworld) – US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Egypt on Saturday starting his tour of the Middle East. During his stop in Cairo, Kerry met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri for a “strategic dialogue”.
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| US Secretary of State John Kerry in a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on 13 March, 2015. (Photo: AFP) |
The two countries have had a tumultuous relationship since Egypt’s 2011 revolution. The bilateral dialogue is held for the first time since 2009, and comes in the wake of an announcement this week that Washington began the delivery of eight F-16 fighter jets to Egypt. In late March, the US lifted its freeze on 1.3-billion-USD annual military aid to Cairo. The US-Egypt dialogue focused on politics, economics, security, and culture to seek solutions to important issues of each country and to promote their mutual interest.
Kerry will travel to Qatar on Monday to meet his counterparts from the six Gulf Cooperation Council member states to appease their concerns over a nuclear deal signed between Iran and P5+1 – the US, the UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany. After the Middle East, Kerry will leave for Southeast Asia, where he will visit Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.