Egypt's President Might Bring up Christian Persecution With Trump
The escalating violence against Christians in Egypt could reportedly become a topic of discussion for the White House visit being planned by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. It could even be on top of the agenda now that the crisis has turned into a mass evacuation of families from the Sinai region.
While no date has been set for the working visit, some local officials are urging el-Sisi to move up the schedule. President Donald Trump's election has boosted el-Sisi's confidence of getting White House support for his administration's campaign against Islamic extremists in his country.
El-Sisi's administration supported the Republican Trump in the last election on suspicion that the Obama administration supported the Muslim Brotherhood. This group is supposedly responsible for the terror incidents in Egypt. There is actually a campaign for Trump to formally label the Brotherhood a terror group.
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El-Sisi was encouraged to visit Washington after his getting complimentary remarks from Trump in September last year at the height of the campaign for the U.S. election. The two met at the United Nations General Assembly that time wherein Trump called him "a fantastic guy."
"I thought it was a great meeting. We met for a long time, actually. There was a good chemistry there. You know when you have good chemistry with people. There was a good feeling between us," Trump said that time, as reported by Politico.
The Republican campaign also released a statement expressing "strong support for Egypt's war on terrorism, and how under a Trump administration, the United States of America will be a loyal friend, not simply an ally, that Egypt can count on in the days and years ahead."
El-Sissi is moving towards improving his country's relationship with the U.S. and has expressed agreement with most of Trump's policies in the Middle East, including counterterrorism. Aside from supporting Russian airstrikes on rebel-held positions in Syria, both Trump and el-Sissi oppose the Iran nuclear deal program.
