Trump calls Sisi, offers help to overcome obstacles
cairo — US President Donald Trump called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Thursday and said he was keen to overcome any obstacles in the way of cooperation, just days after the US said it would withhold some financial aid to Egypt.
“President Abdel Fattah El Sisi received a phone call tonight from US President Donald Trump who affirmed the strength of the friendship between Egypt and the United States and expressed his keenness on continuing to develop the relationship and overcome any obstacles that might affect it,” Sisi’s office said in a statement late on Thursday.
On Tuesday, two US sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Washington had decided to deny Egypt $95.7 million in aid and to delay a further $195 million because it had failed to make progress on respecting human rights and democracy.
Egypt, an important regional partner for the United States because of its control of the Suez Canal and its border with Israel, receives $1.3 billion in aid annually and was critical of the US decision.
Its foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the decision to withhold aid reflected “poor judgment” and that it could have “negative implications” on achieving common goals and interests between the two countries. The decision reflects a US desire to continue security cooperation as well as its frustration with Cairo’s stance on civil liberties. In particular, a new law regulating non-governmental organisations is widely seen as part a growing crackdown on dissent, said the US sources.
Egyptian rights activists have said they face the worst crackdown in their history under Sisi, accusing him of erasing freedoms won in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule. —