US to boost trade ties, military aid to Egypt after talks

The US and Egypt are set to strengthen their bilateral relations following strategic dialogue that focused on counter-extremism and trade.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Cairo on Sunday for a long-postponed day of talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukri.

Also at the meeting was Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, US ambassador Stephen Beecroft and Robert Malley, who heads up Washington's National Security Council for the Middle East.

Speaking to the press ahead of the meeting, Kerry said he was “delighted" to be in Cairo, stressing that "the United States wants to work with [Egypt] to better attract capital".

US firms invested over $2bn in Egypt during 2014 and Kerry pledged on Sunday that that figure, which represents a fifth of all foreign direct investment in the country, is set to increase even further.

Just prior to the 2011 toppling of strongman president Hosni Mubarak, the economy was “racing ahead," but since then US efforts to reinvigorate the country’s finances have faltered because of political turmoil.

Now, with US help, Kerry said, there is “no reason in the world” that the Egyptian economy should not return to its pre-revolution state.

Though the meeting was principally focused on trade, and specifically the energy sector, Kerry also stated Washington’s commitment to supporting Egyptian counter-extremism efforts. The Secretary of State pledged to boost US military aid to Egypt, currently set at $1.3bn a year, to help improve border security and put down a growing insurgency in the restive Sinai Peninsula.

Kerry’s comments came days after the US delivered the first batch of a shipment of eight state-of-the-art F-16 fighter jets last week.

The jets, transferred after Washington lifted a freeze on arms sales to Egypt this March, were flown direct to Cairo and integrated directly into the air force.

Little mention was made of the country’s internal politics, though Kerry in May signed off on a critical report that found that “the overall trajectory of rights and democracy has been negative”.

On Sunday, Kerry stressed the need for improving governance in the name of stability, condemning the assassination in June of prosecutor general Hisham Barakat, in what was the most high-profile political killing to rock the country for decades.

The US delegation urged Egyptian authorities to enable to political opponents to "find a means of voicing their dissent peacefully".

During the meeting, President Sisi “reviewed the progress towards establishing democracy,” according to the state-owned daily al-Ahram, pledging to hold long-awaited parliamentary elections before the end of 2015.

Hours after that meeting, a new law came into force allowing President Sisi to appoint up to five percent of members of the upcoming parliament.

The new law, which comes into force on Monday after being signed off on by Sisi on Saturday, stipulates a 568-member parliament, 28 of whom can be directly appointed by the president.