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Pompeo declined to call out human rights abuses happening Egypt, including the reported detention and torture of American-Egyptian Khaled Hassan who has been missing since last January -- allegations Cairo denies.

During his address, the secretary applauded Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's efforts to promote religious freedom and encouraged him \"to unleash the creative energies of Egypt’s people, unfetter the economy, and promote a free and open exchange of ideas.\"

The State Department did say that the issue of human rights was brought up in Pompeo's private meeting with Sisi earlier in the day.

\"PHOTO:
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via AP)
PHOTO: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, second right, and his wife Susan, right, is welcomed by U.S. ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman, second left, as they arrive in Baghdad, Iraq, during a Middle East tour, Jan. 9, 2019.
>

Also noticeably absent from Thursday's address was the mention of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, brutally murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

The killing led the U.S. Senate to vote to suspend U.S. support to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, as well as condemn Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the act. While the Trump administration has sanctioned Saudi officials for their alleged role in the murder, Trump has continued to defend Saudi leadership.

With stops already in Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt, Pompeo will continue his tour of the Middle East on Friday with planned visits to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait.

ABC News' Conor Finnegan contributed to this report.

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