US allows much of Egypt military aid despite human rights concerns
The Biden administration has allowed much of U.S. foreign military aid to Egypt to go ahead, saying the country was vital for U.S. national security interests despite what critics have said about widespread human rights abuses, Reuters reports.
Washington has only withheld $85 million of the aid, which under U.S. law was contingent on Egypt making "clear and consistent progress" in releasing political prisoners, which the United States said Cairo did not fulfill.
That amount withheld is a fraction of the $1.3 billion a year allocated for Egypt.
The United States has long provided Egypt with large amounts of military and other aid, ever since the Arab world's most populous nation signed a peace deal with neighboring Israel in 1979. Cairo has remained a close regional ally of Washington.
The law allows a further $235 million to be withheld as that portion is also conditioned on Egypt meeting democracy and human rights requirements but U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken used his right to waive these conditions, U.S. officials said.
"Egypt's voice is a crucial one, on so many issues across the region that we're trying to work together in the spirit of regional peace and security," said a senior State Department official who briefed reporters on the decision.
The decision did not diminish U.S. commitment to advancing human rights in Egypt, said other U.S. officials, also speaking on the condition of anonymity. Washington has held "tough conversations" with the Egyptians on its human rights track record, the officials said.
