Transport Minister Hatem Abdel-Latif received US Ambassador in Cairo Anne Patterson on Thursday for talks on means of boosting joint cooperation, especially in the transport domain.

During the meeting, Patterson said an invitation was made by the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to representatives of Egyptian ports to visit the US on March 8 for two weeks.

The US side is willing to offer funding to upgrade Egyptian ports and feasibility studies of a number of investment projects in the transport domain, the US ambassador said.

Abdel-Latif welcomed the invitation but said the present conditions in the country would not allow all ports to be represented in the visit. He also called for shortening the visit to one week.

The Minister also requested that General Electric to sell 80 railway locomotives to Egypt with a discount on spare part prices, so Egypt can be able to buy them.

The US ambassador promised to tackle the issue with the company's representative in Cairo.