Egypt Fm Leaves For Washington

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi left Cairo early Thursday for the United States for talks with U.S. officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry.



Fahmi will also hold talks with members of the U.S. Congress and think-tanks in the U.S., the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.



The top Egyptian diplomat is scheduled to address the closing session of the Global Philanthropy Forum in San Francisco.



Fahmi's visit to Washington will be his first since the Egyptian army unseated elected president Mohamed Morsi in July following mass protests against his presidency.



Tension has haunted Egypt-U.S. relations since Washington withheld $260 million in economic assistance in October and cancelled the delivery of military equipment to Egypt over what it called "slow democratic path" in the country.



By Mahmoud al-Husseini



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