Thomas H. Goldberger, Charge’ d’Affaires at the US embassy in Cairo hailed the “very good” ties between Egypt and the U.S. nowadays at all aspects.
In a round table interview with a number of Egyptian reporters, Goldberger referred to the existing cooperation between both countries in security, military, trade, and culture fields.
“Many American companies are seeking to invest in Egypt,” he confirmed.
The American official also pointed out to the good chemistry between the senior leaders of both countries; President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his American counterpart, Donald Trump.
“They had met last April. Moreover, ten days ago, they talked over phone for an hour, discussing a number of regional issues,” he explained.
Iran Plays a Negative Role in Destabilizing Regional Countries
Goldberger said that there is an “excellent cooperation” between Egypt and the US. “We share the same views and concerns regarding various regional issues.”
Concerning US-Iran ongoing tensions, he stressed that the US is very concerned over Iran’s attempts to attain nuclear weapons. “It represents a threat for the whole world, including the Middle East region."
The American official also denounced “negative role” played by Iran to destabilize countries like Syria, Yemen and Libya. “We frequently tackle all these issues with the Egyptian government,” he noted.
“The US adopts a clear plan to confront the Iranian threats”, he said. “The US will not allow Iran to attain nuclear weapons, or to interfere in the affairs of its neighboring countries.”
Moreover, he stressed that US is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, yet it keeps the door for dialogue open to address all concerns. “America is just applying economic pressures on Iran to encourage them to negotiate with us.”
US-Turkey relations
“Turkey is a very important country for the US strategically, it is also a member of NATO,” Goldberger said. “Yet, the US disagrees with some Turkish actions like importing sophisticated missiles from Russia.”
“We have a law in US that imposes sanctions against countries importing weapons from Russia,” he continued. “The US eyes to apply these sanctions against Turkey over Russia S400 deal.”
“The United States has reiterated its call to Turkey not to proceed with offshore drilling operations within Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and repeated its support of the Mediterranean island’s right to exploit and develop its oil and gas resources,” The American official added. “We’ve made clear to Turkey that we consider these actions as provocative and we have encouraged Ankara to stop them.”
Moreover, the American diplomat believes that those tensions would not have a direct effect on Cairo-Washington relations.
Egypt and US support peaceful transition of power in Sudan
The Charge' stressed that Egypt and US enjoy a very close diplomatic coordination in respect to Sudan.
“US Special Envoy to Sudan visited Egypt 10 days ago, to discuss latest Sudanese developments with Egyptian senior officials,” Goldberger said. “Egypt and The US support peaceful transition of power in Sudan to achieve stability.”
“Concerning Libya, Egypt and America see that the political solution remains the only way to resolve the country’s crisis,” he said. “The US valued the efforts exerted by the United Nations in this regard.”
In addition, the American official noted that US is not supporting a particular side in Libya, yet it is looking for a particular solution which would lead to a stable consensus government.
“The US is also cooperating with major countries like France, Italy, United Arab of Emirates (UAE), and Germany to resolve this crisis,” Goldberger added.
He noted that US policy right now is focusing on peaceful solutions that will lead to more stability in the region.
The (MESA)
Goldberger said that the Middle East Security Alliance (MESA) will include six Arab states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Egypt and Jordan.
"Under this alliance, the countries will be able to work together more effectively in different fields including: security, and economic ones as well as enhancing political consultations among them," he added.
In addition, he pointed out that MESA will include naval, military and defense cooperation.
Eternal Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Regarding peace process, the American official said that Trump administration has committed to resolve the eternal conflict between Israel and Palestine. “The US president vowed to solve this conflict which last for too long despite the efforts of many previous actors.”
“Thus, Trump has formed a small team composed of about 20 persons, who are holding intensive consultations with different countries in the region to settle this conflict,” he confirmed. “They are trying to develop a new approach which will accomplish the Palestinians' aspirations and it will also protect Israel's security, hence achieving stability in the whole region.”
Moreover, he also noted that the United State’s role is not to enforce the concerned parties to abide by specific way out, but to be optimistic towards new ideas which could end this conflict.
“The draft of this approach will compose of 60 pages; it has not been published yet,” Goldberger revealed.
US Considers the Possibility to designate MB As a Terrorist Group
“The US is known for its strong opposition to terrorism, and its ultimate support for any country confronting this vicious threat especially Egypt which had suffered a lot over the past years,” Goldberger said.
“In the meantime we are actively cooperating with Egypt against terrorism,” he stressed. “We have very close relations with intelligence services and security apparatuses.”
“The US is considering the possibility to designate Muslim brotherhood as a terrorist group within a legal framework,” the American official noted.
The US investments in Egypt
Goldberger said that many American companies are interested to invest in the Egyptian market, referring to its distinguished geographical position.
Moreover, he hailed Egypt’s successful economic reform, saying “Egypt’s economy is growing too fast, thus creating many promising opportunities.”
“There are many American companies operating in Egypt including: Pepsi, Uber, Ford and others,” the American official noted.
In addition, Goldberger valued the efforts exerted by the Egyptian government to overcome any obstacle facing American investors in Egypt, promising that more US investments will be injected in the Egyptian market within the coming period.”
NGOs Issue
The Charge' said that Egypt's parliament voted yesterday Monday in favor of approving a new non-governmental organisation (NGO) law. “It seems to be a very strong move in the right direction towards the empowerment of the civil societies to have their effect in Egypt.”
“NGOs play a key role in any country,” he confirmed. “Egypt has also resolved the issues relating to NGOs American workers.”
“The US respects the mechanism adopted by any country to legalize NGOs,” he said. “We hope the new NGO law passed by the Egyptian parliament to be successful and to meet the needs of the civil societies.”
Israel and Nuclear Weapons Claims
The American official confirmed that Israel has never announced possessing nuclear weapons, and it does not threaten its neighbouring countries, a matter which is completely different from the aggressive policy adopted by Iran in the region.
“The best way to address all concerns is to achieve peace agreement between Israel and its neighboring countries,” he added.
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