CAIRO, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi reaffirmed Egypt's support for an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital in his talks with visiting U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday, the Egyptian presidential spokesman said in a statement.

"The president reaffirmed Egypt's fixed position on the Palestinian cause, which supports the rights of the Palestinian people to establish their own independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital," Egyptian Presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said.

Last December, U.S. President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and his intention to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, despite regional and international rejections and warnings.

"For his part, the U.S. vice president values Egypt's historical role in the peace process and its vast contribution to maintaining security and stability in the Middle East region," the spokesman said.

Pence also expressed the U.S. vision of Egypt as "an important strategic partner," he added.

Cairo is Pence's first destination in his Middle East tour covering Egypt, Jordan and Israel. The tour was supposed to be made last month, but it was suspended by Trump's Jerusalem decision.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has existed since the Western-backed creation of Israel and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories in 1948.

The Palestinians seek to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital in the light of the UN-proposed two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders.