CAIRO – On Saturday, the first day of the federal government shutdown, Vice President Mike Pence arrived here in the late afternoon to meet with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, whom he praised and repeatedly called a “friend” of the United States.
The leaders met for nearly 2 1/2 hours at the presidential palace and delivered brief statements before a small group of reporters who are traveling with Pence, a nearly nine-minute event that only happened after intense negotiation between Pence’s staff and Egyptian authorities, who wanted to limit access to one television camera with limited sound and, at one point, physically barred reporters from leaving a bus.
Sitting in gold-gilded chairs in front of an intricate tapestry showing a map of Egypt, Sissi said through an interpreter that Pence is a “dear guest” and that his visit “speaks volumes” about Egypt’s relationship with the Trump administration. Pence said that the two countries had been “drifting apart” until Trump took office but that their “ties have never been stronger,” especially as they work together to fight terrorism in the region. He added that he chose to visit Egypt first on his four-day, three-country Middle East tour because of the importance of the U.S.-Egyptian relationship.
Pence denounced a terrorist attack on an Egyptian mosque in November that killed more than 300, along with recent attacks on Coptic Christians.
Neither leader mentioned the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or President Donald Trump’s decision late last year to formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that Sissi advised against. Neither answered shouted questions from reporters. In his brief remarks, Pence made no mention of the U.S. citizens who are imprisoned in Egypt, often on questionable charges. Sissi’s regime has been accused of gross human rights violations and stifling the press.
Pence arrived at the presidential palace late Saturday afternoon, along with a bus carrying the 12 reporters who are traveling with him in the Middle East this week. A CNN journalist with a video camera left the bus, but then an Egyptian official planted himself in front of the door and would not allow anyone else to leave. One of Pence’s staff members firmly told the man that he needed to let everyone out, but he refused to move, forcing her to shout out the windows to others who might help.
After about three minutes, reporters were allowed off the bus but not into the meeting between Pence and Sissi. They were not allowed to take cellphones, cameras or laptops into the palace and spent about 90 minutes waiting in a room down the hall from where Pence and Sissi were meeting. In the hall outside, there were tense negotiations over which reporters would eventually be allowed into the meeting for the brief statements.
After two meetings, the leaders and their aides had dinner together. The visit lasted less than four hours. The vice president is scheduled to fly from Cairo to Amman, Jordan, on Saturday.
