CAIRO – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made a brief visit to Cairo, meeting President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi for talks that appeared partially designed to bury a recent public spat between the two longtime allies.
He stopped in Cairo for an hours-long visit en route to Saudi Arabia, his tone was softer, mostly expressing solidarity with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on issues of security and economic cooperation.
Speaking to reporters in Cairo, Kerry said he had a “very serious and very constructive” discussion with el-Sissi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri.
Washington, he said, viewed Egypt as “critical” to regional peace and security and wanted to help it succeed in its efforts to overcome the “difficult challenges” it faces economically as well as in its fight against an insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula led by militants from the local affiliate of the extremist Islamic State group.

Source: News Agencies, April 20