US SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY REBUILDS RELATIONS WITH EGYPT IN STRATEGIC DIALOGUE

USPA NEWS - U.S. Secretary of State Kerry sits with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the Ittihadiya Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, at outset of a bilateral meeting following a series of security and economic discussions during a Strategic Dialogue between the United States and Egypt on August 2.

-------------------------------------------------FIGHTING DAEESH TOGETHER BY INTENSIFYING SECURITY MEASURES The armament is a defence in areas at high risk whose geopolitical position implies that military training must be intensified. The Secretary of State proposes cooperation means between the US and Egypt to better secure the border areas. “It is because of our commitment to Egypt´s security and our common fight against violent extremism and terrorists that over the last year alone ““ and I have a long list here, which I will share with the Foreign Minister of additional items that we are proposing for security and economic assistance to Egypt. But that is the reason that we have, over the last year, provided F-16s, Apache helicopters, Fast Missile Craft, armoured vehicles, and other weapons systems. We will continue to provide robust training to the Egyptian military, as the military seeks it and desires it, in an effort to build capacity, and also to meet the highest expectations of your military for its professionalism. And today we will offer new suggestions about how to expand our cooperation in countering terrorism and enhancing border security. The borders are increasingly fragile between the country risk of the Near and Middle East area, hence the need to intensify high vigilance against terrorism and improving the security of border areas, in particular. “Now, we all know that defeating terrorism requires a long-term strategy. Border security and law enforcement actions are a significant part of the equation, but the even the larger imperative is to persuade and prevent young people from turning to terror in the first place. Otherwise, no matter how many terrorists we bring to justice, those groups will replenish their ranks and we will not be safer. We will be involved in a round robin, circular, repetitive process.“ Said Secretary Kerry.

JOHN KERRY IS CONFIDENT ABOUT THE PRODUCTIVE SESSION OF STRATEGIC DIALOGUE ----------------------- “So, in closing, Sameh, let me just say that we have a good opportunity this morning in this dialogue to thresh out some of these things. I really want to thank you again for hosting this dialogue. And my apologies that it had to be moved, inevitably, but I´m confident we can get on a schedule that keeps us, in an ongoing way, engaged in this dialogue. Our delegations, I know, are very eager to get started. And I am really confident that today is going to be a very constructive, very productive session. It´s going to help us build this relationship well into the future. The friendship between our countries is not based on some kind of perfect agreement. It´s based on intense awareness of our shared interests in areas such as regional stability and counterterrorism. And, as is usually the case when representatives of the United States and Egypt get together, we always have a lot to talk about. So I am very pleased to return the floor to you, Sameh, and I look forward to a very productive session today. Thank you.“ Concluded John Kerry Official Statement