Egypt and the United States

Recognition and Equal Representation

The United States recognized Egyptian independence and established formal relations on 26 April 1922. Consuls and agents with limited diplomatic functions had previously represented American interests. Egypt opened its resident Washington legation in 1924. Embassy rank followed a further negotiation in 1946: Washington demanded that its ambassador in Cairo receive normal precedence alongside the British ambassador, whose special position reflected Britain’s role in Egypt. Britain accepted the change, Egypt approved the exchange, and Mahmoud Hassan presented ambassadorial credentials in Washington on 10 October. [1] [2] [3]

Sovereignty and the Suez Crisis

Egypt’s struggle to control its own territory and resources repeatedly intersected with American policy. After Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal Company in July 1956, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles pursued an international arrangement for canal users. Mediation failed, and Israel, Britain, and France invaded. Eisenhower opposed the operation and pressed for a ceasefire and withdrawal through diplomatic and economic means. Washington’s response challenged its European allies, but it did not settle its disagreements with Nasser over regional politics and alignment. [14]

Rupture and a Channel through Other Embassies

Egypt’s union with Syria in 1958 changed the state represented in Washington to the United Arab Republic. Syria withdrew in 1961, while Egypt retained that name. On 6 June 1967, Cairo severed relations during the Arab-Israeli war, alleging American air support for Israel. American officials rejected the allegation. Cairo permitted an administrative section under a protecting power; the American interests section opened under Spanish protection the next day, while Egypt maintained its Washington channel under Indian protection. [1] [4] [3]

Ashraf Ghorbal carried presidential messages through the interests section as well as negotiating with American officials. On 2 May 1968, he delivered Nasser’s appeal over Jerusalem to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, who undertook to send it to Johnson. In January 1972, Ghorbal conveyed President Anwar Sadat’s frustration to Assistant Secretary Joseph Sisco: Cairo believed American arms deliveries to Israel contradicted Washington’s assurances about seeking a settlement. Sisco urged talks on an interim agreement and said neither party could secure all its conditions before negotiations began. [5] [11]

Restoration and an Institutional Settlement

Sadat sought a new diplomatic position as well as military gains. After expelling Soviet military advisers in 1972, he used a confidential channel to Kissinger to explore American involvement in a settlement. The October 1973 war, begun by Egypt and Syria, made those exchanges urgent. Ceasefire diplomacy created the opening for the restoration and disengagement negotiations that followed. [15]

After the October 1973 war, Kissinger and Sadat agreed in principle to restore relations. Their announcement of 7 November raised the interests sections immediately to ambassadorial level and named Ashraf Ghorbal and Hermann Eilts to head them. It promised full relations at a later date. [6]

The governments restored full diplomatic relations on 28 February 1974, during Henry Kissinger’s negotiations over disengagement after the October war. The embassy reopened with Hermann Eilts identified as ambassador-designate. In June, Nixon and Sadat established a joint cooperation commission covering reconstruction, trade, agriculture, science, and cultural exchange. They coupled peace negotiations with working groups through which officials could pursue economic and technical cooperation. [1] [7] [8]

Carter’s mediation at Camp David in September 1978 gave that cooperation a further task: negotiating an Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty and arrangements for Palestinian self-government. Sadat and Menachem Begin signed the peace treaty in Washington on 26 March 1979, with Carter as witness. The treaty coupled Israeli withdrawal from Sinai with normal relations between Egypt and Israel. A joint letter invited the United States to participate in separate negotiations over the West Bank and Gaza. [9] [10]

Assistance, Political Change, and Continuing Negotiation

The 1979 peace treaty established the basis for decades of American military and economic assistance. Cooperation helped sustain Egypt’s peace with Israel and its role in regional security. Aid also became a recurring subject of congressional scrutiny, especially over human rights. The partnership consequently combined substantial material support with disputes over the Egyptian government’s treatment of political opponents and civil society. [16]

Egypt’s upheavals after 2011 intensified that tension. Mubarak resigned amid mass protests; Mohamed Morsi won the 2012 presidential election, and the military removed him in July 2013. American policymakers then weighed security cooperation against democratic and human rights concerns. Congress attached conditions to portions of military aid, making appropriations and certification decisions another arena of bilateral negotiation. [16]

Egypt’s mediation remained consequential even during these disagreements. In August 2024, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi joined Biden and Qatar’s amir in calling for renewed Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiations. They offered to bridge remaining differences and proposed talks in Doha or Cairo. [17]

Related Reading

• Diplomacy after Rupture: Interests Sections and Protecting Powers
• Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty Signed in Washington [10] [9]