The US Department of State announced on Wednesday that President Joe Biden’s administration approved the sale of military equipment worth $197 million to Egypt.
The Department of State confirmed in a statement, that the arms deal to Egypt supports the foreign policy of the United States, adding, “Egypt is a major ally of the United States and an important strategic partner in the Middle East.”
This deal comes in the early days of the Biden’s administration, despite its promises to scrutinise the human rights situation in Egypt.
Still, observers believe that there will be a period of strained relations between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the current US administration, after harsh criticism directed at Egypt by Joe Biden during his election campaign, because of the repression in Egypt and the decline of human rights there, and the imprisonment of activists.
Biden described El-Sisi as Trump’s “favorite dictator,” vowing to end what he described as “free checks from Trump to El-Sisi.”
