since the country's new president was inaugurated, NBC news agency said in news briefed by “Shafaq News”.

The State Department said Kerry will discuss a variety of issues with his Egyptian hosts, including the two countries' relationship as well as regional issues including Iraq and Syria.

Kerry is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Egypt since the inauguration last month of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi.

The relationship between the U.S. and Egypt has hit a few speed bumps in recent months.

The U.S. has been concerned about Egypt's imprisonment of journalists and activists.

Egypt's mass sentencings of Muslim Brotherhood supporters also have drawn condemnation from the West.