US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, speak during a presser following his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, at the Presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, April 20, 2016.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who is currently visiting Washington, said on Sunday that he has been discussing increasing US aid to Egypt, the state-owned Ahram Online reported.

Shoukry said US aid had long represented a great support for Egypt’s development efforts, especially with Cairo’s “current role in fighting terrorism and maintaining stability in the region.”

The minister also said that his trip to Washington was to form an initial contact between Egypt and President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.

While US aid to Egypt has resume in 2015, Washington’s military aid to Cairo – worth $1.3 billion – was stopped following the ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Mursi.

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