Relationship dossier
Egypt
United States
Relationship assessment
A durable security partnership accompanied by recurring disputes over human rights and assistance conditions
Egypt toward United States
+35Egypt has cooperated with the United States on regional security and diplomacy, including maintaining its peace treaty with Israel and undertaking mediation efforts in regional conflicts. These actions have supported important U.S. strategic interests, although Egypt also pursues an independent foreign policy.
United States toward Egypt
+35The United States has provided Egypt with substantial military and economic assistance for decades and has maintained security cooperation with Cairo. U.S. policy has also periodically conditioned or restricted assistance over concerns about human rights and political freedoms.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship is anchored by sustained U.S. assistance and security cooperation, alongside Egypt’s role in regional diplomacy and its peace with Israel. These durable shared interests coexist with recurring U.S. criticism and aid conditions related to governance and human rights, producing a substantial but not unqualified partnership.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Egypt and the United States maintain a substantial security and diplomatic partnership, including long-running U.S. military assistance and cooperation on regional security. Egypt’s peace with Israel and its role in regional mediation have served shared interests. Relations also face recurring friction over human rights, political freedoms, and the conditions attached to U.S. assistance.
Areas of tension
- U.S. concerns over human rights and political freedoms in Egypt
- U.S. conditions, restrictions, or pauses on assistance to Egypt
Key developments
The Camp David Accords established a framework for peace between Egypt and Israel, supported by U.S. diplomacy.
Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty that became a cornerstone of U.S. regional policy and subsequent U.S.-Egyptian cooperation.
The United States suspended some military assistance to Egypt following the 2013 military takeover, while continuing other forms of support.
Major uncertainties
- The extent and implementation of current security cooperation are unclear.
- The effects of U.S. human-rights conditions on military assistance vary over time.