President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met on Sunday general Joseph L. Votel, commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), in the presence of Egyptian Minister of Defence Sedki Sobhi and US ambassador to Egypt Robert S. Beercroft, a statement by the presidency said.

Presidential spokesperson Alaa Youssef said that Al-Sisi emphasised the importance of strategic Egypt-US relations, namely in military cooperation, suggesting its expansion to face the parallel increase of extremism and terrorism threats to the region and the world.

The meeting further stressed the importance of political solutions for different countries in crisis in the region as the most suitable path to restoring peace and sparing bloodshed.

For his part, Votel described Egypt as “one of our most important partners in the region,” a statement by the US embassy said Sunday.

Votel last visited Egypt in August 2016.