The US Embassy in Cairo announced that US navy commander Kevin M. Donegan visited Cairo Sunday for an official visit that will include meetings with a number of senior Egyptian officials to discuss shared security interests between the two countries, according to Daily News Egypt.
The head of the US Naval Forces Central Command is set to discuss American-Egyptian “collaboration and the long-standing partnership between our two countries in fighting terrorism and promoting security and stability in the region,” according to a statement from the US embassy in Cairo.
In the past few months, several US army and congress officials have visited Egypt and also met with senior Egyptian officials, and in some visits, they met Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
The most recent US army official to visit Cairo was the director of the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Vincent Stewart, who met with Defense Minister Sedki Sobhy in June.
Moreover, Egyptian Armed Forces’ Chief of Staff Mahmoud Hegazy paid an official visit to the US in May as he discussed counter-terrorism with his counterparts and the US’ role in the Sinai peacekeeping mission.
The United States provides Egypt with $1.3 billion in military aid annually, with the 2016 package including $150 million in economic assistance.
Recently, Egypt received in May an initial shipment of 762 mine-resistant, ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles from the United States, which will be used in army operations in North Sinai.
The Egyptian armed forces are launching massive attacks against the Islamic insurgency in Sinai Peninsula. Sinai Province a group affiliated to ISIS carried several operations and attacks against Egyptian armed forces.
