By Simon Lewis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration on Wednesday notified the U.S. Congress that it will provide Egypt with $1.3 billion in military aid, a State Department spokesperson said, the first time since 2020 Egypt will receive the total amount of U.S. funding despite human rights conditions.
The announcement comes as Washington has relied heavily on Cairo – a longstanding U.S. ally – to mediate so far unsuccessful talks between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza.
Of the $1.3 billion in U.S. foreign military financing allocated to Egypt, $320 million is subject to conditions that have meant at least some of that sum has been withheld in recent years.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress on Wednesday that he would waived a certification requirement on $225 million related to Egypt’s human rights record this year citing “the U.S. national security interest,” the spokesperson said by email.
“This decision is important to advancing regional peace and Egypt’s specific and ongoing contributions to U.S. national security priorities, particularly to finalize a ceasefire agreement for Gaza, bring the hostages home, surge humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in need, and help bring an enduring end to the Israel-Hamas conflict,” the spokesperson said.
Blinken issued a similar same waiver on the human rights conditions last year but withheld a portion of the military aid over Egypt’s failure to make “clear and consistent progress” on the release of political prisoners.
This year, Blinken determined that Egypt had made sufficient efforts on political prisoners to release $95 million tied to progress on the issue, the spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Simon Lewis)
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