Cairo greeted Donald Trump’s election relatively positively, mainly as a reaction to President Barack Obama’s criticism against Egypt’s alleged human rights violations, the Iran deal and to Cairo’s perceived US weakness on battling Islamic fundamentalist terror.
A senior Egyptian Foreign Ministry official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the Egyptian ambassador to Washington is in contact with president-elect Donald Trump. The official said, “The content of our messages to the new administration is that Egypt looks to improve relations with Washington in regard to the fight against the Islamic State and to increased security assistance to Egypt.” The official added that Cairo made clear to Trump’s team the importance of the Palestinian issue and the necessity of strengthening Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on account of Hamas.
