Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called on the Middle East region to unite against terrorism as well as invest in efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press on Saturday night, Sisi said all countries in the region needed to cooperate to vanquish the intensifying terrorist threat that has led to a "ferocious war" in Egypt.
Sisi warned countries faced "sliding into failure" if the Islamic State terror group were not defeated, adding that Egypt's own military needed to be "augmented" to combat ISIS-affiliated terrorists in Sinai.
Egypt's President then urged countries in the region to renew efforts to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict via a two-state solution.
According to Sisi, Egypt's nearly 40-year-peace with the Jewish state should be expanded to more Arab countries in the region.
Resolving the conflict, Sisi added, could "change the face of the region and...bring about enormous improvement to the situation...I'm optimistic by nature and I say that there is a great opportunity."