Also relevant to economic aid is Egypt’s successful hosting of COP27, which, for the first time, included a breakthrough agreement on a new “Loss and Damage” fund for vulnerable countries. COP27 further solidified the partnership between the United States and Egypt on climate issues. Biden’s speech acknowledged the climate crisis as a question of “human security, economic security, environmental security, and national security.” There is a shared outlook and vocabulary between the United States and Egypt regarding the concept of human security that can be capitalized upon. The $500 million package announced by the United States, the EU, and Germany to finance Egypt’s transition to clean energy, and the $150 million deal enabling Egypt to serve as a hub for African countries’ climate resilience activities, demonstrate the strong future of U.S.-Egypt bilateral relations, especially in civilian economic aid. Finally, this type of civilian economic cooperation should be inclusive of entrepreneurial Egyptian youth and private sector investors as this deepens people-to-people relations and positively impact the Egyptian people’s economic security.

The new Congress is likely to understand these issues. This can pave the way for a deeper U.S.-Egypt strategic partnership on defense and security matters, all while placing the discourse on both human rights and human security in its important and proper context.

Dr. Marwa Maziad is Visiting Assistant Professor of comparative civil-military relations at the Department of Government and Politics and the Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies at the University of Maryland. She is an Affiliate Scholar with the Middle East Institute’s Strategic Foresight Initiative. @marwamaziad

Image: Photo Spirit / Shutterstock.com

Editor's note: This article originally stated that Congress withheld the delivery of Apache helicopters to Egypt in 2013. It was the Obama administration, not Congress. We regret the error.