Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi finished his first 100 days in office with diplomatic flourish this September. He addressed the U.N. General Assembly in New York and met with President Barack Obama for the first time in what could be a turning point in the frosty relationship between the United States and Egypt. Much hinges, however, on the next few months and how Egypt addresses the multiple challenges it faces at home and in the region.
Sisi returned home with the same daunting list of challenges he faced before the trip: a need to spark economic growth to create jobs, a host of domestic and foreign security threats, and the country’s struggle over power in the midst of an incomplete political transition process. Perhaps Sisi’s biggest accomplishment since taking office has been his ability to keep Egypt’s myriad challenges from becoming full-blown crises. But he did so without offering a longer-term, sustainable plan for the country’s economic and political future.
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