美防长访埃及推进两国关系回暖

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited Egypt Thursday, continuing Washington's warming of relations with Cairo during the Trump administration's first 100 days.

Mattis met with Egyptian Defense Minister Sedki Sobhy and President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, whose White House visit earlier this month was the first by an Egyptian leader since former U.S. President Barack Obama hosted Hosni Mubarak in 2009.

Political upheaval in 2011 ousted Mubarak and started years of turmoil that brought the authoritarian former general Sissi to power.

While in Egypt, Mattis was expected to push the country, which is struggling with political, financial and security issues, to remain tough on counter-terrorism amid a threat in the Sinai Peninsula and even in some urban areas, as shown in the deadly Palm Sunday attacks on Coptic churches in Alexandria and Tanta conducted by Islamic State militants.

美国国防部长詹姆斯·马蒂斯星期四抵达埃及访问，延续川普政府执政首个百日期间华盛顿与开罗之间关系逐渐回暖的势头。

马蒂斯会见了埃及国防部长苏卜希以及埃及总统塞西。塞西总统本月早些时候访问了白宫，他是美国前总统奥巴马2009年接待穆巴拉克总统后，首位来访的埃及领导人。

2011年发生的政治巨变导致穆巴拉克被废黜，开始的连年动荡局面使得奉行集权的前将领塞西上台掌权。

预计马蒂斯访问埃及期间将推动正苦于应对政治、经济和安全问题的埃及，在本国西奈半岛甚至一些城市地区频受恐怖威胁的情况下，保持反恐的严厉态势。最近圣枝主日位于亚历山大和坦塔的哥普特基督徒教堂受到的致命袭击事件，就是伊斯兰国激进分子所为。