Pompeo meets Egypt's Sisi amid concern over Trump's Middle East policy

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Thursday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo, part of a tour to address concerns of American allies in the Middle East.

The visit by Washington's top diplomat comes amid confusion in the region over a surprise plan by President Donald Trump's administration to pull US troops out of Syria.

Pompeo arrived in Cairo late Wednesday following stops in Jordan and Iraq, in his longest trip since taking the post last year.

He met with Sisi in Ittihadeya Palace, and later held a joint press conference in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

President Donald Trump's "decision to withdraw our troops has been made. We will do that. We will withdraw our forces, our uniformed forces, from Syria and continue America's crushing campaign," Pompeo told reporters.

Later on Thursday, Pompeo was to give a planned address entitled "A Force for Good: America Reinvigorated in the Middle East" at the American University in Cairo. 

His tour is aimed at urging regional allies to continue to confront the "significant threats" posed by Iran and Islamic jihadists despite Trump's shock decision last month to pull all 2,000 American troops from Syria.

But the muddled pronouncements from the Trump administration, which swiftly walked back the planned withdrawal of troops from Syria, has triggered regional concern.

A senior State Department official insisted ahead of the trip the US will "not leave the Middle East."

The whistle-stop tour will also take Pompeo to Gulf countries including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

As he arrived in Egypt, the State Department described the country as a "steadfast partner in the anti-terror fight, and a courageous voice in denouncing the radical Islamist ideology that fuels it". 

The United States and Egypt enjoy warm ties under the Trump administration.

Trump and his Egyptian counterpart Sisi have lavished one another with praise on several occasions.

Since 1980, the US government has provided Egypt with more than $40 billion in military and $30 billion in economic assistance.

Agencies contributed to this report.