Cooperation with Egypt’s friends needed to defeat terrorism:Sisi

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi held a meeting on Wednesday with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to discuss issues related to the fight against terrorism as well as security arrangements on the borders.

“President Al-Sisi stressed in the meeting that the attacks being carried out by terrorist groups outside the Middle East are considered unholy operations, and they require strengthening security cooperation with Egypt’s foreign friends through building a comprehensive approach to defeat of terrorism and eradicate extremist ideology,” the presidency’s statement read.

Egypt had expressed its solidarity with France following last Friday’s Paris attacks which left 129 killed and more than 300 injured.

Egypt is also strengthening its political and military cooperation with foreign countries such as the US, Russia, Britain and France, which are fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

The Egyptian army has fighting its own war against an Islamist insurgency in north Sinai for several years.

“The president also discussed the status of the security operations underway in Sinai as well as ways to secure the western borders [with Libya],” the statement added.

The meeting comes as the Egyptian government has opened an investigation into the deadly crash of a Russian airliner over Sinai in late October.

On Monday, President El-Sisi held a meeting with the National Defence Council to discuss issues related to fighting terrorism, flood control mechanisms, and progress on the planned Dabaa’s nuclear power plant project.

source: Ahram Online