American aid to Egypt is an annual fixed amount that Egypt receives from the United States of America following the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement in 1979. The US has given Egypt. uninterrupted aid at an average of $2.1 billion annually since 1979, – divided into $1.3 billion in military aid and $815 million in economic aid. American aid to Egypt constitutes 57% of the total international aid it receives, both from the European Union, Japan and other countries at an average. Consequently, this article is going to shed light on the US assistance given to Egypt, the mutual relationship between America and Egypt, the Egyptian economic and human rights conditions in the country.
The US- Egyptian relationship is essential to the US for several reasons. Egypt
is important to the national security interests of the United States as it
provides access to the Suez Canal and combating terrorism in the Sinai and
along its borders with Libya and Sudan. The US aid to Egypt aims to advance
American political objectives too through implementing its foreign economic
assistance programs. American aid plays a major role in the relationship
between Egypt and America as tt maintains peace between Egypt and Israel. It
also helps Egypt remaining a significant military force in the region after
Israel. Besides, it allows the Us to heavily supervise the Egyptian arming,
control the army’s military behavior and ensure that Egypt does not receive
weapons from any other sources. Furthermore, Egypt imports 85% of its arms from
America, so the military aid significantly boosts the American economy.
The US aids are basically linked to the record of human rights in Egypt. As the
US assistance is given to Egypt based on a peace treaty between it and Israel,
the domestic stability of Egypt is something crucial to receiving this
assistance. There should be an atmosphere of applying human rights laws and
respecting freedom of all kinds in the whole country. Promoting a stable,
prosperous Egypt, where the government respect and apply the basic rights of
its citizens and meet the needs of the Egyptian people, will continue to be an
essential objective of U.S. policy. Unfortunately, the situation is different
in Egypt, nowadays the country is heavily suffering from violating basic human
rights of its people. The Egyptian government has vigorously repressed freedom
of speech, assembly, and the press. The government has accused of cracking down
on marginalized groups and innocent people considered to be a threat to the
state. In this regard, Security forces have been accused of committing grave
human rights violations, including forcibly displacing thousands against their
will to create a buffer zone along the Gaza border. These forces have also been
accused of committing arbitrary arrests, torture, forced disappearance, and
extrajudicial killing.
According to credible reports by media and human rights organizations, Sisi’s
government has used aggressive measures against NGOs, journalists, and
political opponents working in Egypt. for example, critics of Sisi were jailed
without credible legal justification before March 2018 presidential election.
Under the illusion of a counterterrorism strategy, Egyptian security services
also blocked 64 news websites in June 2017, allegedly claiming that they contradicted
the state media’s narrative of events. Adding to this, the Egyptian authorities
enacted the controversial 2017 law which subjected 47,000 nongovernmental
organizations to severe operational rules. Consequently, NGOs in Egypt are
virtually inoperable as this law limits NGOs’ activity to “developmental
and social work”.
Despite the billions of dollars Egypt has been receiving, the country remains
impoverished, undeveloped, polluted and undemocratic. In 1996, Egypt keeps on
embodying the virtual aspects the United States has claimed to promote and
support the country’s economy since it began its significant economic aid
program in 1975. This failure to properly utilize the considerable amounts of
aids in foreign assistance can be blamed on both Egyptians and Americans.
American officials had to closely monitor the way that aids have been spent on
economic projects. The Egyptian leaders had to utilize these sums of money in a
way that bring prosperity, yet stability to their country. To illustrate, it
seems that Sisi’s economic policies in the meantime mainly focus on helping his
military to make money instead of focusing on creating more jobs or boosting
labor force abilities. For example, he established the second Suez Canal
passage and new administrative capital in the desert (“Wedian”), without
considering if these projects would majorly enhance employment and economic
growth. Sisi has also made many changes in laws, regulations, and government
contracting procedures in a way that better serves his military.
To conclude, the US should rethink its aid program to, and relationship with,
To conclude, the US should rethink its aid program to, and relationship with,
Egypt as the country is suffering from poverty, fragile economy and absence of
democracy. The US government should change its aid measures accordingly. It
should pressure the Egyptian government to meet its demands that concern
improvements in human rights. The equipment and training supplied with U.S.
assistance should suit the counterterrorism mission. The U.S. military aid to
Egypt should be conditioned on some basic elements, including transparency in
military operations, respecting human rights and greats efforts to prevent
further civilian casualties in counter-terrorism operations. Eventually, The US
should make sure that Egypt is developing and enjoying an atmosphere of
democracy, and that its foreign assistance promotes social and economic
development in there.
