US approves most Egypt military aid. Rights groups say it sends the wrong message
- Arab world’s most populous nation is one of the largest recipients of US military aid, worth almost US$1.3 billion a year
- A US official said the US decision did not diminish America’s commitment to advancing human rights in Egypt
The Biden administration has allowed much of US foreign military aid to Egypt to go ahead, saying the country was vital for US national security interests despite what critics have said about widespread human rights abuses.
Washington has only withheld US$85 million of the aid, which under US law was contingent on Egypt making “clear and consistent progress” in releasing political prisoners, which the United States said Cairo did not fulfil.
That amount withheld is a fraction of the US$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 neighbouring Israel in 1979. Cairo has remained a close regional ally of Washington.
The law allows a further US$235 million to be withheld as that portion is also conditioned on Egypt meeting democracy and human rights requirements but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken used his right to waive these conditions, US officials said.