Blinken talks Egypt-US partnership, Israel-Palestine conflict with El Sisi, Shoukry: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry yesterday before heading to Israel for the final leg of a three-day Middle East tour. Blinken had warm words for the “strategic partnership” between Egypt and the US, while also calling for “progress” on human rights. The Israel-Palestine conflict was also a key topic amid escalating violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Blinken and El Sisi “reaffirmed their strong commitment to the U.S.-Egypt strategic partnership,” according to statements from Ittihadiya and State Department spokesperson Ned Price. Blinken highlighted US support for the Egypt amid the “perfect storm” of high inflation sweeping the global economy, pointing to US finance for food security as well as a subsea telecoms cable, and Red Sea coral reef protection initiative backed by our friends at USAID, according to a US readout of his joint press conference with Shoukry following their meeting (watch, runtime: 29:34.)

Thumbs up for our IMF agreement: “The work that Egypt is doing, including under the new IMF program in terms of the reforms that it’s making, is very important for the long-term economic success of Egypt,” Blinken said. A new joint economic commission between the two countries would look at ways to up trade and investment between the two countries, he added.

No movement on GERD? Blinken reiterated to El Sisi “US support for a diplomatic resolution on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam that would safeguard the interests of all parties,” according to Price.

Events in Israel and the West Bank drove much of the conversation: “Washington is counting on close coordination with Egypt… to restore stability, achieve calm and contain the situation between the Palestinian and Israeli sides,” Ittihadiya Spokesperson Bassam Rady said Blinken told El Sisi. Violence in the wake of the ascension of Israel’s new far right government has killed 35 Palestinians and seven Israelis in recent days, with both Egypt and the US yesterday calling for de-escalation. Egypt has often acted as a mediator in the conflict.

One sticking point in the friendship: “Making tangible and lasting improvements on human rights is essential to strengthening even more our bilateral relationship,” Blinken said at the presser and in his meeting with El Sisi, according to the US statements. While praising steps including the launch of the national dialogue and the reactivation of the presidential pardons committee, Blinken also called for further reforms and the release of more prisoners. He raised the cases of individual detainees with Egyptian officials, he told reporters, without naming them. Blinken also met separately with civil society members, according to a separate statement by Price.

What’s next? Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after landing in Israel yesterday, where he called for “urgent steps” to restore calm. He will next meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, according to a summary of his travel plans from the US Department of State.

Blinken’s visit was the topic of the day on the nation’s talkshows, fueled by State Dept. Arabic Spokesperson Sam Weberg’s Energizer Bunny-like blanketing of the airwaves, as we note in Last Night’s Talk Shows, below.

Blinken’s visit is everywhere in the int’l press: AP | Reuters | AFP | BBC | Al Monitor | The National.