For the second time this year, Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi met with the head of the World Jewish Congress (WSJ) Ronald Lauder in Cairo, according to al-Ahram, an Egyptian state-owned newspaper.
The meeting between al-Sisi and the head of the World Jewish Congress took place in the presidential palace in eastern Cairo, and was attended by the head of Egyptian intelligence, Khaled Fawzy.
Presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef said that the meeting focused on communicating with all parts of American society to boost the bilateral understanding of the current challenges faced by the region.
On the other side, Lauder expressed his appreciation for Egypt’s role in maintaining stability and peace in the Middle East and its efforts to combat terrorism.
He also pointed to Al-Sisi’s expected visit to the United States in April, and said that it will contribute to enhancing bilateral and strategic relations amid the global war against terrorism.
Ronald Loader’s visit mainly focused on US-Egypt relations, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations ; however, the most important of all was al-Sisi’s visit to the White House.
Al-Sisi’s visit to Washington is settled during the first week of April, and the peace process is expected to be one of the items on the agenda.
According to an Egyptian readout of the meeting published by Anadolu agency, al-Sisi told Lauder, “The next stage requires strengthening… of Egyptian-American relations at all levels, ”describing the current relations between Washington and Cairo as “close, extensive and of a strategic nature.”
During the meeting, al-Sisi also expressed a desire to “continue to contribute in a positive way to the creation of the atmosphere necessary for the resumption of peace negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.”
Al-Sisi reaffirmed his call for a two-state solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.
Last week, al-Sisi met with the head of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo.
The two leaders discussed al-Sisi’s upcoming meeting with Trump, and “coordinated their stances” on Palestinian issues, including the realization of a two-state solution to the conflict, as reported by the official PA news agency Wafa.
The US-based World Jewish Congress was founded in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organisations.
Ronald Lauder, a US billionaire and a former college classmate of Trump’s. The two also did business together in 2004.
Last December, a delegation from the American-Jewish Committee (AJC) was received by Al-Sisi at the Ittihadiya Presidential Palace in Cairo.
Moreover, al-Sisi also met with leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations last month, where they discussed a number of issues including Egyptian-US relations and regional affairs.
