WASHINGTON: A senior State Department official will represent the United States at tomorrow’s inauguration of the new Egyptian president, but in a sign of US unease, no cabinet-level ministers will attend.
The US delegation to the swearing-in of president Abdel Fattah Al Sisi will be led by State Department counselor Thomas Shannon, a senior advisor to Secretary of State John Kerry, a US official said.
“The United States looks forward to working with president-elect Al Sisi in Egypt and his government to advance our strategic partnership and many shared interests,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said.
But she acknowledged to reporters that the US administration was not yet “satisfied” with the progress made in returning to democracy in Egypt.
A former general, Sisi won nearly 97 percent of the vote in last week’s polls, nearly a year after he toppled Egypt’s first freely elected leader, Islamist Mohamed Mursi. “There’s more work to do,” Harf told reporters. “We believe Egypt needs to continue its transition toward a stable, inclusive and civilian-led democracy.” She stressed that elections were only part of the process to move the country toward democracy.
Israeli leaders congratulate Sisi
JERUSALEM: Israel’s premier and president congratulated Egyptian president-elect Abdel Fattah Al Sisi yesterday, stressing their committment to the peace accord between the neighbouring states.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Sisi and “congratulated him on his victory in the election,” the premier’s office said. A statement noted “the strategic importance of the ties between the states and of upholding the peace agreement, and wished the Egyptian people a future of stability, prosperity and peace.”
Shimon Peres’ office said the Israeli president told Sisi: “Israel is committed to maintain the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt and to strengthening the cooperation between our nations.” Peres too wished the Egyptian people “prosperity and success” and said he hoped Sisi would lead Egypt to “great achievements”. Sisi was declared Egypt’s president-elect Tuesday following an election last week, nearly a year after he toppled Islamist president Mohamed Mursi.
Blast in police compound in Turkey
ISTANBUL: An explosion in the garden of a police compound in Turkey’s southeastern province of Kahramanmaras injured several people yesterday, Dogan news agency reported. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear, the agency said.Agencies
