Egypt's coup leader, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi invited to Britain

Egypt's coup leader, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi invited to Britain
The UK government has invited Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to visit Britain, a day after a Cairo court upheld a death sentence against ousted president Mohamed Morsi to death.
2 min read
18 June, 2015
Egypt is a close British ally in the Middle East [Anadolu]

British Prime Minister David Cameron has reportedly invited Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to visit the UK, Egypt's state news agency said on Wednesday, a day after a Cairo court sentenced its former president to death.

Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi was sentenced to death on Tuesday along with dozens more over a mass jailbreak during the 2011 uprising.

He was also sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of spying for Palestinian group Hamas, Lebanese group Hezbollah and Iran.

Morsi came to power following the 2011 ouster of Hosni Mubarak. But after just a year in power, Morsi was himself toppled by then-army chief and now President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The new authorities then launched a sweeping crackdown on his supporters in which more than 1,400 people were killed and thousands jailed.

Although there has been no official confirmation from the UK government about the invitation, this will be Sisi's first visit to Britain since being sworn in as president in June 2014.

Cairo is seeking foreign investment to rebuild its economy after years of political turmoil.

Egypt is a close British ally in the Middle East and since 2011, British companies have invested $25 billion in Egypt.

Oil company BP signed a deal this year to invest $12 billion in Egypt that will produce 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent, an agreement that will help Egypt as it tackles its worst energy crisis in decades.

Earlier this month, Sisi also signed several energy agreements with Germany multinational Siemens to boost Egypt's power supply.