CAIRO: A spokesman for Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said the leader would be making his first official trip to the United States in September. Morsi is to arrive in the US on September 23 to meet with his American counterpart Barack Obama. It will be Morsi's first face-to-face meeting with Obama since taking power on June 30 after winning the country's first democratic election in Egypt's history. It also comes as controversy surrounds the Egyptian administration in the US and Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. US Congress had threatened to cut off $1.3 billion in military aid had Egypt not pushed forward on its democratic transition following the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. “President Morsi will visit the United States on Sept. 23 after his visit to China,” presidential spokesman Yasser Ali told Reuters news agency. Morsi is to travel to China next week and then will visit Iran, where the two countries are expected to restore diplomatic ties after three decades of silence.
