US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Cairo, on his first visit to Egypt since the army overthrew President Mohamed Morsi in July.
He was expected to stay in the country for just a few hours on Sunday.
Kerry began his Cairo day stop with a meeting with Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy. Later he was to see Egypt's Army chief, General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as well as the interim president, Adly Mansour, and civic leaders.
His visit comes at a time of strained relations between the traditional allies after Washington suspended some military aid to Egypt following Morsi’s ouster.
The United States said on October 9 it would withhold deliveries of tanks, fighter aircraft, helicopters and missiles, as well as $260m in cash aid to Egypt, pending progress on democracy and human rights.
Kerry intended to underscore the necessity of democratic transition through a transparent and inclusive constitutional process, and free and fair parliamentary and presidential elections.
Only once progress is made on those, American officials say, will the US consider restoring the suspended aid.
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