CAIRO: Egypt has proposed restructuring the method by which it receives aid from the United States amid increased uncertainty regarding Egyptian-US aid relations. During her visit to Washington, Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Aboul-Naga proposed an initiative to transfer the economic aid granted by the US to a joint Egyptian-US time deposit account. The proposed initiative must be approved by Congress before it is applied in 2009. It aims to gradually decrease US aid to Egypt within 10 years, starting 2009. Egypt currently receives $415 million in economic aid every year. Earlier this year, Congress informed Egypt of its goal to decrease US economic aid by $200 million over the next five years. According to the Ministry of International Cooperation's press office, Egypt refused the US's deduction proposal and is currently studying the time deposit account option. Aboul-Naga is currently negotiating the amount to be deposited annually with her US counterparts. The press office said they do not yet have information on Egypt's action plan. Egypt pays $350 million every year towards its $4 billion debt to the US. If the US grants Egypt only $200 million in economic aid, "the balance will not be just, Aboul-Naga told reporters in Washington. Egypt suggested that the total deposited in the account annually includes $150 million - the difference between what Egypt receives and what it pays - plus the annual aid, which is yet to be decided. Furthermore, "for every dollar in the time deposit [account], Egypt will add a pound, said the minister. "The interest that comes out of this time deposit will go towards development projects in the fields of education, technology, research and development, health as well as small and medium-sized businesses to create job opportunities for the youth and to enhance civil society, Aboul-Naga explained. These negotiations come at a time of heightened uncertainty surrounding US aid to Egypt. Earlier this year, members of the US House of Representatives introduced legislation that would withhold $200 million in military aid from Egypt on the grounds that it must curb human rights violations, reform its judicial system and stop arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip. At the time, Aboul-Naga said Egypt refuses any interference in its affairs and "will not accept any conditions binding military or economic aid, saying these "conditions will have a negative effect on US-Egyptian relations. Similarly, President Hosni Mubarak said the government would resist US attempts to link military aid with alleged human rights abuses, adding that Egypt refuses "any interference in our affairs.
