"The United States has a special interest to maintain friendly relations
with Egypt," Burns said. "These are very special relations with great
importance to us."
Burns also met President Hosni Mubarak. The U.S. official said
Washington wants to enhance strategic cooperation with Egypt, particularly
regarding Iraq, Sudan and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"U.S.-Egyptian ties are excellent," Burns was quoted by Egypt's official
Middle East News Agency. "We hope both countries build on them."
Officials said the strategic dialogue focused on regional threats. They
said the two sides reviewed the situation in Lebanon, Horn of Africa,
Somalia and Sudan.
Egypt has been the No. 2 recipient of U.S. military aid, with $1.3
billion per year. The Mubarak regime has requested such major weapons
platforms as the F-16 multi-role fighter and the AH-64D Apache Longbow
attack helicopter.
"The subject of U.S. aid to Egypt was not included in the dialogue
because it is not a problem," Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hussam
Zaki said.
Zaki said the two sides intend to continue their strategic dialogue in
sessions every six months. He said the dialogue would rotate between Cairo
and Washington.
"The dialogue did not stop, but had been irregular," Zaki said.
