AFP PHOTO / EGYPTIAN PRESIDENCY)
A delegation from the United States Congress arrived to Cairo on Tuesday to meet with senior Egyptian government officials to discuss aid.
The group, headed by majority clerk of the House State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Anne Marie Chotvacs, will discuss US aid to Egypt within the context of the current roadmap and democratic transition, according to state-owned MENA.
The delegation is expected to discuss recent developments in Egypt before returning to present its findings to the US House of Representatives. The visit came two days after Secretary of State John Kerry conducted a brief visit to Cairo, meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Nabil Fahmy, interim President Adly Mansour and Minister of Defence Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi.
In a press conference during the visit, Kerry praised the interim government’s implementation of the roadmap outlined by the armed forces following former president Mohamed Morsi’s ouster.
The United States government said that it had decided to “recalibrate” its aid package to Egypt in October, delaying the delivery of military equipment, including F-16 fighter jets and Apache helicopters. Fahmy had previously said the two nations were undergoing a “delicate phase.”
Last week the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee conducted a hearing, urging the White House to lift its suspension of military aid to Egypt. “We would like a democratic partner for our many security interests in the region, we need a partner,” said chairman of the committee Ed Royce in his opening statement. “We should push and pull with what influence we have.”
“We welcome the interim Egyptian government’s commitment to a political roadmap to restore a democratically-elected civilian government and will monitor how that roadmap is implemented,” said Beth Jones, acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, at the hearing.
