The State Department said in a news release that the proposed sale of the missiles and related equipment “will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a Major Non-NATO Ally country that continues to be an important strategic partner in the Middle East.”
“The proposed sale will support the Egyptian Navy’s Fast Missile Craft ships and provide significantly enhanced area defense capabilities over Egypt’s coastal areas and approaches to the Suez Canal,” the release said.
The proposed sale comes amid continued concerns about Egypt’s human rights record, particularly after Egyptian authorities raided the homes of relatives of Egyptian American activist Mohamed Soltan. According to Soltan’s nonprofit organization the Freedom Initiative, two of his cousins were arbitrarily detained.
“Mohamed Soltan is calling attention to the impunity and disregard for human rights under the current Egyptian regime. Now the Egyptian regime is arresting his relatives to try to intimidate him into silence,” his lawyer Eric Lewis said.
The State Department was looking into reports of the detentions on Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said at a press briefing.
“We have and we continue to engage the Egyptian government on human rights concerns and we take seriously all allegations of arbitrary arrest or detention,” Price said. “We will bring our values with us into every relationship that we have across the globe. That includes with our close security partners. That includes with Egypt.”
The Biden administration has stressed the importance of restoring an emphasis on human rights to foreign policy. However, the government of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been accused of serious human rights abuses.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/16/politics/egypt-missile-sale/index.html
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