Kerry in Cairo for talks on Muslim Brotherhood crackdown

US Secretary of State John Kerry has held talks with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo over concerns about the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and the threat the Iraq conflict poses to the Middle East.

Live updates

US proposes $650 million aid package to Egypt

Apache helicopters fly over Tahrir Square during a protest to support the army, in Cairo July 26, 2013. Credit: Reuters\Amr Abdallah Dalsh

US Secretary of State John Kerry has made the highest-level American visit to Egypt since President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi took office in an attempt by Washington to press the country for more moderate policies.

Kerry said the US government has proposed providing an aid package worth $650 million (£380m) to Egypt and is working with Congress to settle differences over the final amount

Earlier this month, the US quietly agreed to send an estimated $572 million US dollars to Egypt in military and security assistance - widely believed to include Apache attack helicopters- on top of $200 million US dollars in economic aid already delivered.

Kerry arrives in Egypt for talks with new president

US secretary of state John Kerry has arrived in Cairo for talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over Egypt's crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and the threat which the conflict in Iraq poses to the Middle East.

Kerry is the highest-ranking US official to visit Egypt since Sisi, the former military leader who toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi after mass protests last year, won a May presidential election.

His visit comes a day after an Egyptian court confirmed death sentences against 183 members of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, including its leader Mohamed Badie, in a mass trial on charges of violence in which one policeman was killed.

Advertisement

Back to top