US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has urged Egypt to grant more democracy and human rights. Speaking on Thursday evening after meeting in Washington with sixteen young Egyptian activists in the field of democracy and human rights, she said it was in Egypt's interest to grant more democracy and show greater respect for human rights.
She was asked whether human rights and democracy would be raised during the US President's visit to Egypt next Thursday. She pointed out that democracy and human rights are always raised, as this was a corner stone in the country's foreign policy. She said she believed that the Egyptian government was very much aware that, given those youths, it was in its interest to grant more democracy. She added the US has spent billions over the past years to support NGOs and promote democracy, good governance and the rule of law in Egypt. She said this was a sign that the US was committed to doing all the necessary work to back economic opportunities in Egypt. Clinton focused her attention on economic opportunities, saying they are the ones that bring confidence to the people and let them realize that they can shape their own future. She also pointed out that this would be discussed during the upcoming visit of US President to Cairo next Thursday. For his part, Stephen Cook, a researcher at the US Council on Foreign Relations, said that spending money on supporting democracy in Egypt has made things worse. He pointed out that Egypt would take advantage of Obama's visit to urge him to maintain the flow of aid to the country.
