Cairo welcomes US decision to free up military aid

By Hussein Mahmoud

CAIRO (AA) - The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Thursday welcomed a decision by Washington to free up military aid to Cairo that was suspended last year.

On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department announced that it had released $195 million in military assistance to Egypt after suspending the allocation last year over concerns about the country’s human rights record.

Speaking to Saudi Arabia’s MBC television channel late Wednesday, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid welcomed the move, describing annual U.S. military assistance to Egypt as a pillar of Cairo’s “strategic relationship” with Washington.

A U.S. official who preferred anonymity told Anadolu Agency that, while Washington still had concerns about Egypt’s rights record, Cairo had recently “taken steps to improve its record”.

The funds were originally suspended in August of last year by then-U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.