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"President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received a phone call tonight
from U.S. President Donald Trump who affirmed the strength of
the friendship between Egypt and the United States and expressed
his keenness on continuing to develop the relationship and
overcome any obstacles that might affect it," Sisi's office said
in a statement late on Thursday.
On Tuesday, two U.S. sources familiar with the matter told
Reuters that Washington had decided to deny Egypt $95.7 million
in aid and to delay a further $195 million because it had failed
to make progress on respecting human rights and democracy.
Egypt, an important regional partner for the United States
because of its control of the Suez Canal and its border with
Israel, receives $1.3 billion in aid annually and was critical
of the U.S. decision.
Its foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the decision to
withhold aid reflected "poor judgment" and that it could have
"negative implications" on achieving common goals and interests
between the two countries.
The decision reflects a U.S. desire to continue security
cooperation as well as its frustration with Cairo's stance on
civil liberties. In particular, a new law regulating
non-governmental organizations is widely seen as part a growing
crackdown on dissent, said the U.S. sources, who spoke on
condition of anonymity.
Egyptian rights activists have said they face the worst
crackdown in their history under Sisi, accusing him of erasing
freedoms won in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that ended Hosni
Mubarak's 30-year rule.
Egyptian lawmakers have said the NGO law was needed for national
security. The Egyptian government has long accused human rights
groups of taking foreign funds to sow chaos, and several are
facing investigation regarding their funding.
Sisi and his Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met Trump's
son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner in Cairo on
Wednesday but neither the presidency nor the ministry mentioned
the aid issue in statements released after the meetings.
(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Sandra Maler, Toni
Reinhold)
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