Kushner snubbed in Cairo after US cuts, delays aid to Egypt

Egypt's top diplomat, Sameh Shoukry, was to meet with Kushner and the US delegation, but a modified version of the minister's schedule showed the meeting had been called off, shortly after the Americans landed in Cairo.

The protest came after the Trump administration yesterday cut nearly

$100 million in military and economic aid to Egypt and delayed almost $200 million more in military financing, pending human rights improvements and action to ease harsh restrictions on civic and other non-governmental groups. Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi was still due to meet with the American delegation, which also includes Jason Greenblatt, US envoy for international negotiations, and Dina Powell, deputy national security adviser, according to the presidency. That meeting was expected later on Wednesday.

The separate statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that Egypt regrets the US decision to reduce the aid funds and considers it "a misjudgment of the nature of the strategic relations that binds the two countries over decades, and reflects the lack of understanding of the importance of supporting the stability and success of Egypt."

The American delegation, headed by Kushner, who is also the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, stopped in Cairo as part of a Mideast tour to press Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

Egypt is among the top recipients of US military and economic assistance. It receives about $1.5 billion annually, with Washington linking the $1.3 billion in military aid and $250 million in economic aid to Egypt sustaining its security relationship with the

US and abiding by the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty.

Egyptian authorities have clamped down on civil society, particularly human rights groups and other organizations that receive foreign funding.