CAIRO (Al Jazeera) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry have started a round of “strategic dialogue” in Washington that they say will address bilateral ties, human rights and a multitude of regional issues, including the Zionist-Palestinian conflict.
At a news conference alongside Shoukry, Blinken said diplomats from Egypt and the United States would “cover a wide range of issues” during two days of talks on Monday and Tuesday.
The dialogue came as human rights groups urged the Biden administration, which pledged to put human rights at the centre of U.S. foreign policy, to take a firmer stance against Egypt over the country’s human rights record.
Rights groups have accused the government of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who came to power in a 2013 military coup, of jailing tens of thousands of dissidents and outlawing virtually all forms of political opposition. Cairo has denied holding political prisoners.
On Monday, Blinken welcomed Egypt’s National Strategy on Human Rights, a long-term plan that the Egyptian government launched earlier this year, which has been received with skepticism by many rights advocates.
Egypt has for decades been considered a linchpin in the U.S.’s Middle East policy due to Cairo’s influence in the Arab world, control over the crucial Suez Canal, and the country’s land border with the Gaza Strip.
But during his campaign for the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden promised “no more blank cheques” for el-Sisi, who had maintained a close relationship with Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump. Then, in March, the Biden administration joined other Western nations in rare public criticism of rights abuses in Egypt.
Nevertheless, Blinken travelled to Cairo in May, after the Egyptian government helped broker a ceasefire to end a deadly escalation between Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza and the Zionist regime.
The Biden administration has continued to face calls in Washington to do more to pressure Egypt – which receives $1.3bn in U.S. military aid annually – on its human rights record, however.
Amid the criticism, the administration said in September that it would withhold $130m in assistance to Egypt, releasing the funds only if el-Sisi ended the prosecution of rights groups and civil society organizations. It also demanded the release of 16 U.S. prisoners.