CAIRO, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Monday that his country will support Egypt in its war against terrorism.
"The Egyptian people should be confident that the U.S. commitment to continue to support Egypt in fight against terrorism and bringing security to Egyptian people is steadfast," Tillerson told reporters in Cairo during a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry.
"We agreed we would continue our close cooperation on counterterrorism measures," Tillerson said.
Tillerson's visit comes as Egypt is carrying out a major nationwide anti-terror military operation that aims to uproot terrorist groups that killed hundreds of Egyptians in the past few years.
Secretary Tillerson has launched on Sunday a regional trip to visit Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, and Kuwait.
His trip comes amid regional discontent of the U.S. administration's decision to recognize the disputed city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
It is Tillerson's first visit to Egypt where discussed with Egyptian officials the ongoing U.S.-Egypt partnership.
On the Middle East peace process, the U.S. Secretary of State said his country remains committed to achieving lasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Commenting on the upcoming Egyptian presidential elections that will be held in March, Tillerson said that the United States supports transparent electoral process.
"We have always advocated for free and fair elections...not just for Egypt, but in any country. "The US is always going to advocate for electoral process that respects rights of citizens," he said.
Egypt's Foreign Minister said that he agreed with Tillerson to hold the U.S.-Egypt Strategic Dialogue at the level of foreign ministers in the second half of 2018.
Shoukry lauded the U.S. support for Egypt's efforts to achieve development, reform, and stability as well as finding peaceful settlements to regional crises.
Egypt receives annual military aid of 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, making it the second largest recipient of U.S. annual aid after Israel, Washington's top ally in the region.
