Seeking to improve the country’s image, authorities in Egypt are pulling out all the stops to make sure that President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi’s visit to New York for the UN General Assembly is a diplomatic success.
Sisi flew to New York on Sunday, and so did some two dozen loyal lawmakers and media figures to express support for the general-turned-president during his four-day stay in New York.
Egypt’s Orthodox Coptic Church, a staunch ally of the president, has dispatched senior clerics to urge followers there to rally in support of Sisi.
Rights groups and some Western nations have criticised Egypt’s human rights record in the three years since Sisi led the military overthrow of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, the country’s first elected leader.
