The United States announced on Wednesday releasing $195 m of the military aid to Egypt after a year of halting the aid over human rights concerns, according to a statement from the US State Department.
The decision came following the steps that Egypt has taken “in response to specific US concerns, and it cited stronger US-Egypt ties in security and counterterrorism, while also acknowledging remaining areas of concern about human rights and governance,” according to the statement.
The spokesperson of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Abu Zaid said in a phone call with a private TV station, that Egypt was informed about the US decision in a phone call between the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his US counterpart Mike Pompeo on Tuesday. He also stressed the importance of the US-Egypt strategic relations.
In August 2017, the US suspended $195m of the military aid to Egypt accusing Egypt of abusing human rights and the democratic ideals. The US also cut $95.7m of the US aid to Egypt for the same reasons, despite the notable rapprochement between the current US President Donald Trump, and Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
Egypt is considered a strategic ally of the US in the Middle East, and receives annual US aid since signing the peace agreement with Israel in 1979 with the US mediation.
