Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan CohenReuters

Jewish-American diplomat Jonathan Cohen on Sunday arrived in Cairo where he will begin to serve as the new US ambassador to Egypt.

Cohen is the first to hold the post in over two years, reported Ahram Online.

He was sworn in as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary last week, and presented his credentials at Egypt’s foreign ministry on Sunday, the US embassy in Cairo said in a statement.

His position had been vacant since July 2017 after former ambassador Robert Stephen Beecroft completed his three-year assignment.

Thomas H. Goldberger held the position of Chargé d’Affaires since.

Cohen previously served as the Acting Representative of the United States to the United Nations, after Nikki Haley stepped down and before current Ambassador Kelly Craft took over the role.

He also served at the US embassies in Iraq, France, Cyprus, Italy, Turkey and Sweden. He was also deputy assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs covering Cyprus, Greece and Turkey.

US-Egypt ties were strained under the Obama administration, which suspended American military aid to Egypt following the 2013 ouster of Morsi, before releasing it two years later.

Following the election of President Donald Trump, however, ties improved. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi praised Trump and said he expected greater engagement in the Middle East from his administration.