President Donald Trump praised his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for doing a "fantastic job" as he hosted the latter in his Oval Office and pledged unstinting support for the authoritarian ruler.
"We agree on so many things. I just want to let everybody know in case there was any doubt that we are very much behind President el-Sisi. He's done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation. We are very much behind Egypt and the people of Egypt. The United States has, believe me, backing, and we have strong backing," New York Times quoted Trump as saying.
President Sisi had been barred from the White House ever since he seized power in a military takeover nearly four years ago.
Trump's predecessors considered authoritarians like Sisi to be distasteful and at times shied away from them.
However, Trump meeting Sisi is being seen as a shift in American foreign policy.
Sisi's visit is the first visit by an Egyptian president to United States since 2009, when former president Hosni Mubarak had visited the country.
"I just want to say to you, Mr. President, that you have a great friend and ally in the United States and in me," Trump told Sisi.
Responding to Trump's Statement, Sisi informed Trump that he and Egypt will always stand with him in bringing about an effective strategy in the counterterrorism effort
He called Trump's effort to negotiate peace between Israelis and Palestinians as an effort to find a solution to the problem of the century in the deal of the century and also pledged his support for this.
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