Ashton arrives in Cairo as African Union delegation leaves

European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton arrived in Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday for a two-day visit to the country.

Ashton is expected to hold talks with Egyptian officials and meet potential presidential candidates during the visit.

An EU source told Anadolu Agency that Ashton will meet former army chief Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi, who recently resigned as defense minister in order to contest upcoming presidential polls.

The top European diplomat will also meet leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, another presidential contender, the source, requesting anonymity, added.

Ashton is also scheduled to hold talks with interim President Adly Mansour, Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi and Nabil al-Arabi, secretary-general of the Cairo-based Arab League.

The source said Ashton's visit was aimed at following up on Egypt's upcoming presidential elections, which are due to be held in May, and stressing that polls should be held without government bias in favour of a particular candidate.

The source went on to say that Ashton would not meet representatives of any Egyptian political parties.

Wednesday's visit will be Ashton's fourth trip to Egypt since the army ousted elected president Mohamed Morsi last July – after only one year in office – on the back of protests against his presidency.

During a previous visit to the country last summer, Ashton met Morsi himself at an undisclosed location, where he had been taken in the wake of his ouster.

Europe's top diplomat had also met with a number of Egyptian political parties and groups – including Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood – during previous visits.

African Union visit ends

Ashton's visit begins as a delegation from the African Union (AU) ended a four-day visit to Egypt. The trip was led by former Malian president Alpha Oumer Konare. The delegation held talks with interim President Adly Mansour and presidential hopefuls; former army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi.

The African envoys also met with Al-Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb and representatives of the National Alliance for the Defence of Legitimacy, the main support bloc of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

The pan-African body suspended Egypt's membership two days after Morsi's ouster by the military last summer.

The measure is taken automatically by the AU in the event of unconstitutional changes of government in a member state.

Egypt completed the first phase of an army-imposed transitional roadmap in January by holding a referendum on an amended version of its 2012 constitution.

Egyptians will elect a new president on 26-27 May, the second milestone of the roadmap that should be completed with parliamentary polls later this year.