Washington – The U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke to  his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, on Friday about joint efforts to promote regional stability, according to the State Department. 

The two discussed the Palestinian territories, Israel, Sudan and Libya, the State Department's readout said.

The American and Egyptian diplomats discussed a unified position to end the conflict in Sudan, and their support for the UN Special Representative in reaching an agreement. They also said that they would work toward free and fair elections in Libya and to achieve "security, dignity, and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians.”

Blinken also affirmed the United States' full support for a diplomatic solution to the dispute between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Blinken welcomed the recent release of Egyptian human rights defenders Patrick Zaki and Mohamed El-Baqer, and said that "progress in the field of human rights will enable the strongest possible partnership between the United States and Egypt."