Sisi praises Trump and expects more US engagement in region

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said Donald Trump would be 'more rigorously engaged with the issues of the region'. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Cairo // Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has praised US President-elect Donald Trump and said he expected greater engagement in the Middle East from his administration.

The former Egyptian army chief had strained relations with Barack Obama’s administration, which had temporarily suspended military aid after Mr El Sisi toppled his Islamist predecessor in 2013.

“I believe that President-elect Trump will be more rigorously engaged with the issues of the region,” he said in an interview with Portuguese news agency Lusa. “As a matter of fact President-elect Trump has shown deep and great understanding of what is taking place in the region as a whole and what is taking place in Egypt.”

Mr Trump’s tough-on-terrorism rhetoric has appeal among Egyptian officials, as the country faces an extremist insurgency that has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers.

The insurgency took off after the military overthrew Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim brotherhood in 2013, unleashing a deadly crackdown on supporters.

“Personally I respect and appreciate” Mr Trump, Mr El Sisi said. “That is why I am looking forward, and I am expecting more support and more reinforcement of our bilateral relations”.

Mr El Sisi, who had met Mr Trump in September in New York, downplayed the president elect’s calls to ban or extremely vet Muslims entering the United States.

“We have got to draw a distinction between the rhetoric that takes place within presidential campaigns and the real and actual administration of a country after the inauguration of a president,” he said.

Mr Trump and Mr El Sisi have already shown a certain bond and Mr Trump said there was “good chemistry” when they met in September and Mr El Sisi said Mr Trump would “without a doubt” make a strong leader.

Egypt’s pro-government media have often railed against Mr Obama, accusing the US of supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and other dissident groups.

Observers believe Mr Trump is less likely to take Egypt to task over human rights. Instead, he could offer Mr El Sisi international political support as the Egyptian leader battles ISIL group-linked militants in the Sinai peninsula and in Libya.

*Agence France-Presse and Associated Press