Egypt criticizes US decision to cut aid as Kushner visits
CAIRO: Egypt on Wednesday criticized a US decision to withhold some military aid, as a US delegation including presidential adviser Jared Kushner visited Cairo for meetings on the Middle East peace process.
that Cairo “regrets the decision” to reduce some funds allocated under a US assistance program and withhold the disbursement of other military aid.
It provided no details of the cuts, but US media reports said Washington on Tuesday denied Egypt $96 million in aid and delayed $195 million in military funding because of concerns over its human rights record.
“Egypt considers this step as a misjudgment of the nature of the strategic relations that binds the two countries over decades,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The move “may have negative repercussions,” it added.
The New York Times quoted the US State Department as saying the move followed a lack of progress on human rights and the passing of a new law restricting the activities of non-governmental organizations (NGO).
Trump’s arrival in office in January saw an improvement in relations with Egypt after Obama’s cold shoulder to El-Sisi over rights issues.
Obama temporarily suspended military aid to Egypt after the July 2013 overthrow of President Mohammed Mursi and the subsequent bloody crackdown on Mursi’s supporters.
Trump set aside criticism of El-Sisi’s rights record while pledging to maintain support for the key US ally, which receives an annual $1.3 billion in military aid.
Egyptian authorities have been fighting an insurgency in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, where a Daesh affiliate has killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen. The Pentagon is also keen to prevent militants from crossing Libya’s porous border with Egypt.