Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Wednesday that he and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlighted the extended Egyptian-US strategic partnership’s role in supporting security and stability in the Middle East.

Blinken visited Egypt as part of his first Middle East tour – which included Israel and the Palestinian Authority before Jordan – as the US top diplomat to consolidate calm in the region in the aftermath of an 11-day Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Last week, Egypt-brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and other Palestinian factions, ending Israeli airstrikes that killed over 250 people and displaced thousands of Palestinians.

“I was honoured today to receive Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State. Together, we consulted about the various political, security and regional issues,” El-Sisi said on his Twitter account after a meeting with Blinken earlier today.

We also “emphasised the extended strategic partnership relations between Egypt and the United States and their pivotal role in backing security and stability in the Middle East region,” El-Sisi added.

According to an Egyptian presidential statement after their meeting, El-Sisi and Blinken agreed on enhancing bilateral coordination and consultations to consolidate the ceasefire and launch the reconstruction process of the Gaza Strip based on the Egyptian initiative in this regard.

El-Sisi affirmed to Blinken the urgent need to revive the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and urged a US role in ending Egypt and Sudan’s dispute with Ethiopia over the latter’s massive dam built on the Blue Nile.