Sisi, Defence Minister meet U.S. congressmen to discuss security

Saturday 07-03-2015 09:43 PM
Sisi, Defence Minister meet U.S. congressmen to discuss security

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi giving a speech on the occasion of the Tenth of Ramadan/Six of October 1973 war - Aswat Masriya

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President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with a delegation of United States congressmen on Saturday to discuss regional security issues, reported Al-Ahram's Arabic website.

The meeting with the delegation, headed by Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, also included U.S. ambassador to Egypt R. Stephen Beecroft and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri.

They reportedly discussed issues of security and terrorism in the region.

Egypt has been battling a militant insurgency, with violence escalating after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in July 2013.

The delegation also met with Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi, where they discussed Egyptian-U.S. military cooperation, according to Al-Ahram.

U.S.-Egyptian relations have been strained since the ouster of Mursi in 2013. 

In October 2013, Washington halted deliveries of large-scale military systems as well as $260 million in cash aid to the Egyptian military, stating concerns over the country's democratic transition and mounting violence following the ouster of Mursi.

Last December, Congress passed new conditions granting the secretary of state more flexibility to approve aid to Egypt.

The measures allows the secretary of state to bypass a set of restrictive conditions on the assistance to Egypt for up to $725 million. The rest of the $1.4 billion allocated to Egypt this year is subject to "holding free and fair parliamentary elections, implementing laws or policies to govern democratically and protect the rights of individuals," according to the bill.

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