Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi is carrying two messages to the U.S. administration and policy-makers during his visit, a senior Egyptian diplomat said Sunday.
"The first message is that Egypt is moving ahead in implementing its transitional roadmap and building its democracy despite all challenges," Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdel-Ati told Anadolu Agency by phone.
"This means that the U.S. needs to recognize the things that have been achieved so far," he said.
The transitional roadmap was imposed by the army following its ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi last summer.
Apart from a referendum on an amended version of the constitution in mid-January, the roadmap also includes presidential elections followed by parliamentary elections.
The presidential elections will be held on May 25-26.
Abdel-Ati added that Fahmi will also be carrying a message about the need to support Egypt in fighting terrorism and not mixing terrorism with human rights.
Fahmi is expected to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday in Washington.
He added that the meeting would discuss bilateral relations and regional issues, including the situation in Syria, Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and the situation in Libya.
The visit is Fahmi's first since Morsi's ouster, which led to tensions in relations with Washington.
But U.S. decided last week to release some of its annual $1.3 billion military assistance package to Egypt delayed last October.
The decision allows for the release of 10 Apache attack helicopters to Egypt.
By Hagar al-Dosoki
englishnews@aa.com.tr
