US RELEASES MILITARY AID TO EGYPT SUSPENDED SINCE 2013
Washington, 12 Jumadil Akhir 1436/1 April 2015 (MINA) – US President Barack Obama on Tuesday released military aid to Egypt that was suspended after the ouster of Egypt’s freely elected President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
The White House said Obama notified Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi in a phone call Tuesday that the U.S. would be sending 12 F-16 fighter jets, 20 missiles and up to 125 tank kits, while continuing to request $1.3 billion in military assistance for Egypt.
The White House said that would make Egypt will remain the second-largest recipient of U.S. foreign military financing worldwide, Ahram quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
The funds were suspended 21 months ago after the ouster of Morsi. But Washington could not provide almost half of the annual aid package — along with assistance held up from previous years — until it certified advances by el-Sisi’s government on democracy, human rights and rule of law or issued a declaration that such aid is in the interests of U.S. national security.
The U.S. has been providing hundreds of millions in assistance to its ally, which didn’t stall as a result of the government overthrow. Egypt has been arguing it needs the money to fight its brother militants over the border from lawless Libya or operating in the Sinai Peninsula, and the U.S. sees the funds as critical for stability in the volatile Middle East.
The aid comes as Egypt is trying to play a leading role in forming an Arab military alliance that can fight militants in the region.
The White House claimed it is not issuing a certification that Egypt has made progress toward democracy. Instead, the U.S. said it is maintaining that the aid is in the interest of U.S. national security.
The White House said in Obama’s call to el-Sisi, he “explained that these and other steps will help refine our military assistance relationship so that it is better positioned to address the shared challenges to U.S. and Egyptian interests in an unstable region, consistent with the longstanding strategic partnership between our two countries.”
Obama told el-Sisi that beginning in fiscal year 2018, US will channel aid for Egypt to counterterrorism, border security, Sinai security, and maritime security and to sustain weapons systems already in Egypt’s arsenal.
The White House said Obama also reiterated U.S. concerns about Egypt’s continued imprisonment of activists and encouraged increased respect for freedom of speech and assembly. (T/R04/P3)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
