RIYADH // Donald Trump said on Sunday he hoped to visit Cairo soon, praising president Abdel Fattah El Sisi after a meeting in Saudi Arabia and declaring that “safety seems to be very strong” in Egypt.
The meeting came after the US president met the leaders of Bahrain and Qatar ahead of a GCC Summit.
Mr Trump will also inaugurate a centre to monitor extremist groups online, with a speech intended to rally the region’s Muslims against terrorist groups and change perceptions about his stance toward Islam.
Mr El Sisi described the US president as “a unique personality that is capable of doing the impossible”.
Mr Trump said he was having “very, very important talks” with Mr El Sisi.
“We’ve really been through a lot together positively,” said Mr Trump, who is on his first foreign visit since taking office.
“I will get to Egypt. We will absolutely be putting that on the list very soon,” he said. Mr El Sisi had “done a tremendous job under trying circumstance”.
Last month, Egypt declared a three-month state of emergency after two church bombings claimed by ISIL killed more than 45 people. Hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police have been killed fighting militants in Sinai since Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was removed from power in 2013.
Egypt is one of Washington’s closest allies in the Middle East, receiving US$1.3 billion (Dh4.78bn) in US military aid annually.
Earlier, Mr Trump told Sheikh Tamim, the Emir of Qatar, they would discuss “lots of beautiful military equipment because nobody makes it like the United States”.
In a meeting with King Hamad of Bahrain, Mr Trump declared that the two nations had a lot in common and that despite previous tensions, “there won’t be strain with this administration”.
The US president also has individual meetings scheduled with the leaders of Kuwait and Oman.
Last week, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited Mr Trump in Washington in preparation for the Riyadh summit.
The president on Sunday will convene the GCC meeting as part of his effort to counter Iran with a Nato-like Arab force.
Mr Trump’s Riyadh visit kicks off his first presidential trip abroad, with Saudi Arabia the first stop on a nine-day journey through the Middle East and Europe.
* Reuters and Agence-France-Presse
