Egypt's ambassador in Washington, Motaz Zahran, stressed Friday that there are many opportunities for cooperation between Egypt and the United States in various files under the new US administration for President-elect Joe Biden, according to state-owned news agency MENA.
Zahran added, during his participation as a guest in a virtual video dialogue with the National Council on US‑Arab Relations (NCUSAR), that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi was one of the first leaders to congratulate Biden on winning his presidential post, asserting Egypt's keenness to cooperate with the US president-elect in the context of strengthening bilateral relations.
The NCUSAR convened an online program exploring “Egypt’s Evolving Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities.”
The event was headed by former US Representative Ed Royce and the Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (2013-2019.)
Royce asked Zahran about the Egyptian people's reaction to the storming of the US Capitol on January 6 and the Egyptian diplomat said that these developments were sad and shocking for Cairo and the entire world.
Moreover, Zahran linked the Capitol’s recent events with what Egypt had previously witnessed in terms of the desire of some extremist groups to take advantage of large-scale demonstrations to turn them into violent protests, chaos and lawlessness, pointing out to the terrorist organization of the Muslim Brotherhood.
He noted that “In the US case, like the Egyptian one, there were widespread national feelings of unity among the people, which followed the state of chaos and made the whole people speak with one voice against all those who were provoking such violent acts and terrorism.”
“During those sad events in the United States and similar events witnessed in other regions, there are some lessons learned, most importantly that rights and freedoms in general are not absolute, but are linked to guaranteeing other rights as well as achieving order, security and public peace,” Zahran illustrated.
He also anifested that security apparatus is of great importance to maintain peaceful protest, as well as to protect sovereign institutions and national security against extremists who seek to penetrate the ranks of rioters.
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